Operations at the Lagos office of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) were disrupted on Wednesday after protesting members of the National Union of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employees barricaded the agency’s premises in Isolo.
Staff who arrived early to resume duty were forced to remain outside the complex as union members blocked both the entrance and exit gates.
The protest is in response to NAFDAC’s continued enforcement of the ban on alcoholic beverages below 200 millilitres sold in sachets and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles.
The union is demanding the immediate unsealing of affected factories and production lines, warning that sustained enforcement of the policy could trigger significant economic consequences across the industry.
Earlier this month, union members also picketed the Lagos NAFDAC office over what they described as the agency’s refusal to comply with an alleged Federal Government directive to suspend enforcement of the ban on the production and sale of alcoholic beverages in sachets.
The union said that directives had been issued by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the Office of the National Security Adviser, calling for the suspension of enforcement and the reopening of sealed production lines.
However, NAFDAC dismissed the claims, maintaining that it had not received any official instruction from the Federal Government to halt enforcement of the ban on sachet and PET-bottled alcohol.
Later, the barricade was lifted and NAFDAC staff were allowed back into the premises, restoring access to the office.
Representatives of NAFDAC’s Director-General engaged the protesting union in talks, but the meeting ended without resolution as demonstrators insisted their agitation would continue.
Union leaders presented their concerns during closed-door discussions with a director within the agency and the Special Assistant to the Director-General. However, no agreement was reached.
The protesters are urging NAFDAC to reconsider what they describe as ‘strict enforcement’ of the ban on sachet alcohol. Instead, they want the agency to focus on regulating access to such products, particularly by restricting sales to minors, while intensifying public enlightenment campaigns on responsible consumption.
Protesters remain gathered at the agency’s premises, vowing to continue their action until their demands are addressed.
NAFDAC later stated on Wednesday, referring to a counter-affidavit filed on Monday in which the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare was said to have deposed to a Federal High Court that NAFDAC ‘is legally empowered to enforce the ban on the production and sale of alcoholic beverages packaged in sachets, PET bottles, and glass containers below 200 millilitres’.
According to the statement, the ministry, through its counsel, Jumoke Motilayo Falaye, said that it neither interferes with nor controls NAFDAC’s enforcement decisions, stressing that the ministry is not an enforcement arm of the Federal Government.
The ministry explained 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.
It argued that it lacks the legal authority to direct, restrain, or halt NAFDAC from carrying out its statutory mandate. The ministry further stated 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, adding that all decisions relating to enforcement fall squarely within the agency’s jurisdiction. The ministry also dismissed claims of ministerial interference in NAFDAC’s enforcement processes as speculative and unsupported by evidence.
The suit 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 SERAP’s behalf by Mofesomo Tayo-Oyetibo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, alongside other lawyers from Tayo Oyetibo LP.
SERAP 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. The group 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, SERAP 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 15 December 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.
