The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has linked alcohol consumption to banditry and other serious social problems in Nigeria.
The agency explained why the Federal Government has maintained its ban on alcoholic drinks sold in sachets and small-sized containers.
NAFDAC Director-General, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, made the statement on Wednesday during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily.
Adeyeye said alcohol abuse goes beyond the health risks associated with excessive drinking, arguing that it can also contribute to violent and criminal behaviour.
She specifically cited the impact of alcohol on vital organs, including the liver and kidneys, while stressing that the availability of cheap alcoholic drinks in small packages had made access easier, particularly for young people.
“Alcohol encourages banditry, destroys the kidneys and liver. Although the ban on the sale of alcohol in sachets and PET bottles of less than 200ml did not sit well with some people, Nigerians are concerned about the future of their children,” she said.
The NAFDAC boss explained that alcoholic drinks in sachets and containers below 200ml were originally approved many years ago.
However, she said the situation changed as the products became widely available and increasingly difficult to regulate.
According to her, the agency eventually had to take steps to restrict their production and sale because of concerns over their accessibility and the consequences of alcohol abuse.
The ban covers alcoholic beverages packaged in sachets as well as alcoholic drinks contained in PET and glass bottles below 200 millilitres. Larger approved containers are not affected by the restriction.
Adeyeye said the decision was not taken simply to punish manufacturers or traders.
She maintained that the overriding concern was the protection of public health and the need to prevent children and young people from gaining easy access to alcohol.
The agency has repeatedly argued that small packs make alcoholic drinks cheaper, easier to conceal and more accessible to underage consumers.
In a related development, NAFDAC has intensified its nationwide enforcement campaign against sachet alcohol and other alcoholic drinks packaged in containers below 200ml.
On August, NAFDAC directed manufacturers of alcoholic beverages packaged in sachets and PET bottles below 200ml to withdraw the products from the Nigerian market.
The agency also ordered that the recalled products be destroyed under its supervision, with manufacturers expected to bear the cost of the exercise.
The latest action followed an undertaking signed by industry groups and their member companies, committing them to comply with the government’s restriction.
NAFDAC said the ban became fully effective from January 1, 2026, after the expiration of the final moratorium granted to manufacturers.
The agency’s enforcement teams have since moved beyond manufacturing plants and into markets, motor parks, retail outlets, bars and distribution centres.
In July, NAFDAC announced a nationwide mop-up operation across the six geopolitical zones.
The exercise was designed to identify and remove banned alcoholic products that remained in circulation despite the commencement of the prohibition.
The agency said some manufacturers were still producing the prohibited products even after the ban took effect.
NAFDAC subsequently shut some facilities found to be violating the regulation and continued investigations into those involved.
The policy has also generated protests from workers in the alcohol industry.
In February, employees of distilling companies under the Food, Beverage and Tobacco Senior Staff Association protested at the NAFDAC office along the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway in Lagos.
The protesters accused the agency of sealing companies and warned that the enforcement could affect jobs across the sector.
They carried placards bearing messages including “Tinubu does not want jobs to be lost”, “Stop destroying local manufacturers” and “NAFDAC should release products put on hold”.
The workers’ protests came as NAFDAC maintained that the policy was directed at specific alcohol pack sizes rather than a blanket shutdown of alcohol-producing companies.
The agency has repeatedly clarified that companies are still allowed to manufacture alcoholic beverages in approved larger containers, provided they meet regulatory requirements.
The controversy has therefore centred largely on the size and packaging of alcoholic products, rather than a complete prohibition of alcohol in Nigeria.
Adeyeye had previously made a similar warning about the connection between alcohol abuse and insecurity.
On March, POLITICS NIGERIA reported that the NAFDAC boss said alcohol was responsible for banditry and kidnapping in the country.
Speaking during a public engagement on the ban, she said, “In our country, it is responsible for banditry, it is responsible for kidnapping. You cannot be in your right mind and point a gun at somebody; it starts from alcohol and then goes on to hard drugs.”
She also warned about the consequences of exposing young people to alcohol at an early age.
Adeyeye said underage drinkers faced higher risks of addiction and could later move on to harder substances.
She also linked excessive alcohol consumption with violence, road accidents, poor academic performance and other social problems.
