The Edo State Government has begun enforcing the nationwide ban on sachet alcoholic drinks, with officials inspecting shops and markets across Benin metropolis and seizing prohibited products found on sale.
The operation, carried out by the Edo Consumer Protection Committee on Tuesday, September 22, covered Mission Road, Ekiosa and St Saviour areas, where enforcement officers inspected traders’ premises and removed sachet alcoholic beverages from circulation.
Brandspur News reports that the exercise was led by the committee’s chairman, Osaro Iyamu, who said the enforcement was aimed at protecting consumers and preventing potentially harmful products from reaching the public.
The operation comes months after the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control announced a nationwide prohibition of alcoholic beverages packaged in sachets and PET bottles below 200ml. NAFDAC has subsequently directed manufacturers of affected products to recall existing stock and stop further production.
During the Edo operation, officials found several sachet alcoholic drinks still being sold by traders, including products identified in footage from the exercise as Erujie, Action Bitters and DeROK.
Iyamu urged traders to comply with the ban, warning that continued sale of the prohibited products could attract sanctions. He also said the measure was intended to reduce the accessibility of alcohol to children and keep fake, adulterated and potentially dangerous products out of circulation.
The enforcement, however, met resistance from some traders at St Saviour Market, who expressed concern about the financial losses that could result from the seizure of their stock.
The committee’s operation also uncovered a separate food safety concern. Officials arrested a wholesale beans trader who was allegedly found mixing Sniper insecticide with beans as a means of controlling pests.
The committee described the practice as dangerous because the beans were intended for human consumption and warned that the state would not tolerate the use of insecticides on food sold to consumers.
Residents were subsequently urged to report activities that could endanger public health, while the committee said enforcement of consumer protection measures would continue across Edo State.
NAFDAC’s restrictions form part of its wider efforts to remove alcoholic drinks in sachets and small PET bottles from the Nigerian market. The agency has maintained that products packaged in containers below 200ml fall under the nationwide ban and has instructed manufacturers to comply with the recall and production directives.
For traders, the enforcement means existing stocks of affected alcoholic drinks can no longer simply remain on shelves for sale. For consumers, the exercise signals a more visible phase of the federal restriction, with state authorities now taking the ban directly into markets and retail outlets.
