NAFDAC has power to ban sachet alcoholic beverages, FG tells court

By Lukman Olabiyi

The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (FMOHSW) has told the Federal High Court in Lagos that the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) is fully empowered by law to enforce the ban on the production and sale of alcoholic beverages packaged in sachets, PET bottles and glass bottles below 200 millilitres.

The ministry made the submission in a counter-affidavit filed on February 23, 2026, in response to a suit instituted by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP).

Through its lawyer, Jumoke Motilayo Falaye, the ministry maintained that it does not and has never interfered in NAFDAC’s operations, stressing that it is not an enforcement agency of the Federal Government.

According to the ministry, NAFDAC is a statutory body established under the NAFDAC Act with clear regulatory and enforcement powers over food, drugs and related products, including alcoholic beverages.

It argued that it has no authority to direct, prevent or stop the agency from carrying out its statutory mandate.

The ministry further stated that the Minister of Health and Social Welfare had not granted any further extension of the moratorium on the enforcement of duly issued regulations, including the prohibition on sachet alcohol.

Citing Sections 5 and 30 of the NAFDAC Act and other applicable regulations, the ministry insisted that enforcement decisions fall squarely within NAFDAC’s mandate. It also told the court that allegations of interference by the minister in the agency’s enforcement processes are speculative and unsupported by evidence.

The suit, marked FHC/L/CS/2568/25, was filed by SERAP against the Minister of Health and Social Welfare as the first defendant and the Attorney-General of the Federation as the second defendant, representing the Federal Government, including the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

Filed on behalf of SERAP by Mofesomo Tayo-Oyetibo (SAN), and other lawyers from Tayo Oyetibo LP, the suit seeks several declaratory and injunctive reliefs.

Among other requests, SERAP is asking the court to declare that the sachet alcohol ban is a valid regulation under the NAFDAC Act and that the Minister of Health has no legal authority to grant or extend any moratorium on its enforcement.