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The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) said it has uncovered widespread violations of the Federal Government’s ban on alcoholic drinks packaged in sachets and plastic bottles below 200ml, exposing secret factories and illegal production lines during a nationwide mop-up operation.
Addressing journalists in Lagos, yesterday, the Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, said the agency discovered that several manufacturers were still producing the banned products despite the expiration of the government’s moratorium and repeated warnings.
She described the violations as a deliberate and calculated defiance of federal regulations, warning that all offenders would face the full weight of the law.
According to Adeyeye, enforcement teams operating across Lagos, Ogun and other states targeted manufacturers, distributors and retailers involved in producing, transporting and selling sachet alcohol and alcoholic beverages packaged in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles below 200ml.
She revealed that some manufacturers secretly relocated production equipment to unregistered facilities, removed company signboards and resumed operations to evade regulators.
“Our teams revisited factories whose products were traced to markets where banned products were still circulating. In several cases, those factories were actively producing in direct violation of the ban. These were not leftover stocks.
“We recovered large quantities of banned 100ml PET bottles and rolls of sachet packaging materials bearing production dates as recent as July 23, confirming that illegal production continued after the ban took effect. Officials also found freshly produced alcoholic drinks stacked inside factories, with newly manufactured bottles positioned along active production lines.
“The packaging materials dated July 23 show these manufacturers were producing banned products only days before our operation. This is not a misunderstanding; it is a deliberate, calculated defiance of federal regulation.”
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She also disclosed that NAFDAC officials came under violent attack in Lagos during the nationwide enforcement exercise. She revealed that one officer narrowly escaped being stabbed, while another was slapped and physically assaulted, while carrying out lawful duties.
She condemned the attacks as criminal acts against the Federal Republic of Nigeria, warning that those responsible would be identified and prosecuted.
“These are public servants enforcing a Federal Government’s directive to protect Nigerian children. They were met with violence, weapons and assault by people, whose interest is profit from a banned product,” she said.
She explained that the ban followed Senate resolutions directing NAFDAC not to extend the moratorium on sachet alcohol and sub-200ml alcoholic beverages, while mandating the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to enforce the National Alcohol Policy.
He said the products were banned because they are cheap, portable, easily concealed and readily accessible to children and adolescents, fuelling underage drinking, substance abuse, addiction and alcohol-related illnesses.
She insisted that the ban remains non-negotiable, warning that non-compliant factories would be shut down, while distributors and retailers handling the prohibited products would face sanctions.
Appealing to Nigerians to support the enforcement exercise, she urged the public to stop buying the banned products and report anyone involved in their production or sale.
“NAFDAC will continue this mop-up until the last sachet of banned alcohol is removed from Nigerian streets. We will continue to shut down non-compliant factories and protect the health of Nigerians, especially our children,” she said.
