The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has commenced a nationwide street-level crackdown on alcoholic beverages packaged in sachets and bottles below 200ml, following findings that nearly half of minors who consume alcohol obtain it through the prohibited packaging formats.
The agency said the latest enforcement drive would target markets, motor parks, retail outlets, bars and distribution centres across the country, shifting its focus beyond manufacturers to the final points of sale where prohibited alcoholic products remain accessible to children and young people.
Speaking at a press briefing in Lagos on Monday, NAFDAC Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Christianah Adeyeye, said the agency would deploy seizures, intelligence gathering and sustained surveillance to remove the banned products from circulation.
Adeyeye said research that informed the prohibition found that 47.2 per cent of minors and 48.8 per cent of underage consumers purchased alcoholic drinks in sachets, while 41.2 per cent of minors and 47.2 per cent of underage consumers obtained them in PET bottles.
“The bottom line is that almost 50 per cent of our children buy alcohol in sachets and bottles below 200ml,” she said.
She explained that the Federal Government’s policy was not a blanket ban on alcohol consumption but was specifically aimed at packaging formats that make high-alcohol-content products cheap, portable and easily accessible to minors.
“We are not against alcohol consumption itself. We are against the proliferation of high-alcohol products in small, inexpensive containers that make access easier for children and young people,” Adeyeye said.
According to her, NAFDAC adopted a phased enforcement strategy, starting with manufacturers before extending the operation across the wider supply chain.
The first phase, which began in January 2026, targeted manufacturers, with prohibited products discovered at production facilities evacuated and destroyed.
The second phase, launched in July, expanded enforcement to markets, motor parks, retail outlets, bars and distribution centres.
Adeyeye stressed that the exercise would be sustained through seizures and intelligence-led operations and would not be a one-off campaign.
“We are not expecting this to end next week or in two weeks’ time. Our enforcement continues,” she said.
The NAFDAC boss warned manufacturers, distributors and retailers against attempting to circumvent the ban, saying violators would face severe sanctions.
“If you are a manufacturer of alcoholic beverages below 200ml and we find your product in the markets, you will be fined heavily, and the manufacturing facility will be closed down permanently,” she said.
The latest enforcement follows the execution of an Irrevocable Enforcement Undertaking by the Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria (DIBAN), the Association of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employers (AFBTE), and their member companies.
Under the undertaking, affected manufacturers are required to immediately recall alcoholic beverages packaged in sachets and PET bottles below 200ml from distributors, warehouses and other points across the supply chain.
NAFDAC will supervise the inventory verification and destruction of the recalled products, with the manufacturers responsible for the associated costs.
Adeyeye further disclosed that facilities shut for violating the ban would only be allowed to reopen after NAFDAC verifies that production lines used to manufacture the prohibited pack sizes have been dismantled, permanently disabled or reconfigured.
