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By Doris Obinna
The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare has told the Federal High Court that the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) possesses the sole legal authority to enforce the ban on the production and sale of alcoholic beverages packaged in sachets, PET bottles and glass containers below 200 millilitres.
In a counter-affidavit filed on February 23, 2026, the ministry, through its counsel, Jumoke Motilayo Falaye, stated that it neither interferes with nor controls the enforcement decisions of NAFDAC, stressing that the ministry is not an enforcement arm of the federal government.
The ministry maintained that NAFDAC is a statutory agency established under the NAFDAC Act with clearly defined regulatory and enforcement powers over food, drugs and related products, including alcoholic beverages.
According to the affidavit, the ministry lacks the legal authority to direct, restrain or halt NAFDAC from carrying out its statutory mandate. It further stated that the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Ali Pate, has not granted any additional extension of the moratorium on the enforcement of existing regulations, including the sachet alcohol ban.
The ministry explained that NAFDAC’s enforcement powers are derived from Sections 5 and 30 of the NAFDAC Act and other applicable regulations, adding that all decisions relating to enforcement fall squarely within the agency’s jurisdiction.
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It dismissed allegations of ministerial interference in NAFDAC’s enforcement processes as speculative and unsupported by evidence.
The suit, marked FHC/L/CS/2568/25, was instituted by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) against the Minister of Health and Social Welfare as the first defendant and the Attorney-General of the Federation, representing the Federal Government and the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, as the second defendant.
The action was filed on behalf of SERAP by Mofesomo Tayo-Oyetibo (SAN), alongside other lawyers from Tayo Oyetibo LP. The group is seeking declarations that the sachet alcohol ban is a valid regulation under the NAFDAC Act and that the Minister of Health lacks the legal authority to grant or extend any moratorium on its enforcement.
SERAP is also urging the court to affirm that federal authorities must not interfere with NAFDAC’s enforcement responsibilities and must ensure the nationwide implementation of the ban. Specifically, it is asking for an injunction restraining the defendants and their agents from extending any moratorium on the prohibition, as well as a perpetual injunction preventing any directive capable of hindering NAFDAC from enforcing the ban in line with its statutory duties.
In its originating summons dated December 15, 2025, SERAP argued that continued delay in enforcing the ban violates existing health and regulatory laws, as well as prior agreements supporting a nationwide prohibition of sachet alcohol. The organisation maintained that sachet alcohol, often inexpensive, highly potent and widely accessible, has contributed significantly to rising alcohol abuse, particularly among young people and low-income communities.
