NAFDAC alone has power to enforce sachet alcohol ban – Health ministry

… Says no extension granted as SERAP pushes for full implementation nationwide

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, on Thursday has the sole legal authority to enforce the ban on alcoholic beverages packaged in sachets, PET bottles, and glass containers below 200 millilitres.

In a counter-affidavit filed on February 23, 2026, the ministry stated that it does not interfere with or control NAFDAC’s enforcement decisions, stressing that it is not an enforcement arm of the Federal Government.

“The ministry lacks the legal authority to direct, restrain or halt NAFDAC from carrying out its statutory mandate,” the ministry said in court papers filed by its counsel, Jumoke Motilayo Falaye.

The ministry also clarified that the Minister of Health and Social Welfare has not granted any further extension of the moratorium on the enforcement of existing regulations, including the sachet alcohol ban.

According to the affidavit, NAFDAC’s enforcement powers are derived from Sections 5 and 30 of the NAFDAC Act and other applicable regulations. It added that all decisions relating to enforcement fall squarely within the agency’s jurisdiction, dismissing claims of ministerial interference 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 and the Attorney-General of the Federation.

Filed by Mofesomo Tayo-Oyetibo (SAN) and other lawyers from Tayo Oyetibo LP, the action is seeking declarations that the sachet alcohol ban is a valid regulation under the NAFDAC Act and that the minister lacks the authority to grant or extend any moratorium on its enforcement.

SERAP is also asking the court to issue an injunction restraining the defendants and their agents from extending any suspension of the prohibition, as well as a perpetual injunction preventing any directive capable of hindering NAFDAC from enforcing the ban nationwide.

In its originating summons dated December 15, 2025, the organisation argued that continued delay in enforcing the ban violates existing health and regulatory laws, as well as prior agreements supporting a nationwide prohibition.

According to SERAP, sachet alcohol—often inexpensive, highly potent, and widely accessible—has significantly contributed to rising alcohol abuse, particularly among young people and low-income communities.