Tinubu Government’s Indifference to Nigerian Lives Laid Bare as Counterfeit Alcohol Poisons and Kills

A health crisis is quietly claiming Nigerian lives, but the government appears indifferent. Hospitals across the country are reporting a steady rise in alcohol-related liver disease, increasingly among young people, while the market is flooded with counterfeit alcoholic drinks laced with substances capable of causing blindness, organ failure and death.

At the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, a study of 7,580 liver function tests conducted between May 2024 and May 2025 found that 284 cases showed elevated enzyme ratios indicating alcoholic liver disease, with the highest prevalence in the 40 to 49 age group. Medical research has revealed the risks that alcohol poses to the health of people, especially the youths, some of whom are already affected by liver and kidney diseases due to accessibility and uncontrolled alcohol consumption. A media group has also noted that Nigerian youths are already affected by liver and kidney diseases due to accessibility and uncontrolled alcohol consumption. Research indicates persistently high and rising rates of alcohol consumption across Nigeria, strongly associated with alcoholic liver diseases.

Behind familiar labels and attractively cheap prices often lies a dangerous cocktail of methanol, industrial ethanol, and unsafe additives, substances capable of causing blindness, organ failure, or death. NAFDAC has uncovered factories where fake alcoholic beverages like Seaman Schnapps, Gordons, and Smirnoff Ice were being manufactured. The agency revealed that the factories used cheaper alternatives to sugar and starch in place of fruit or grapes for alcoholic beverages, further exposing consumers to dangerous chemicals. These counterfeiters use harmful chemicals, contaminated water, and recycled bottles to produce these fake versions of popular brands. Fake alcoholic drinks in the Nigerian market contain harmful substances such as methanol, a highly toxic chemical commonly used in industrial applications.

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The consequences are devastating. In December, twelve people were hospitalised in Abuja after a Christmas party where fake whisky was served. Three died. The whisky contained methanol, a toxic alcohol used in industrial processes that can cause blindness, organ failure, and death even in small quantities. In several northern states, including Sokoto and Kebbi, hospitals reported dozens of deaths within a single week. Victims consumed locally brewed gin contaminated with methanol. The National Centre for Disease Control confirmed at least 200 confirmed deaths, though aid workers believe the true figure is significantly higher because many cases occur in rural communities without hospital access. In October 2025, the UK Foreign Office updated its travel advisory to include Nigeria among countries with a high risk of methanol poisoning following a series of deaths linked to fake alcohol.

NAFDAC, the agency responsible for regulating consumables, has seized over 50,000 litres of substandard alcohol across 12 states and closed down 34 factories operating without licences. The agency has also dismantled illegal production facilities in Lagos and Aba, seizing fake alcoholic beverages worth billions. In January 2025, NAFDAC confiscated adulterated alcoholic beverages worth about N5 billion in Aba, Abia State, and sealed off over 240 makeshift factories. More than 1,500 cartons of fake products were destroyed during the raid.

But these actions are reactive, not preventive. The agency responds to deaths and emergencies rather than stopping the crisis before it escalates. The government has declared a public health emergency and ordered intensified raids, but the problem persists. The same government that celebrates economic indicators has failed to protect Nigerians from a preventable health crisis. While counterfeit alcohol continues to poison and kill, the Tinubu administration remains silent, offering no comprehensive strategy to address the root causes of the crisis. The system designed to protect public health has failed, and Nigerians are paying the price with their lives.

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