The Kano State House of Assembly has called on Governor Abba Yusuf to take urgent action to contain a severe diphtheria outbreak that has reportedly killed an unspecified number of children in the Rano Local Government Area (LGA).

The resolution followed a motion of urgent public importance moved on Monday by the member representing Rano Constituency, Ibrahim Muhammad, during a plenary session presided over by Speaker Ismail Falgore.

Moving the motion, Mr Muhammad reported that the outbreak has hit the Ridin and Sabuwar Kaura communities hardest, resulting in several pediatric deaths.

He said the scale of the outbreak demanded an intensified emergency response.

“Although initial emergency measures have been taken, including the procurement of medication and deployment of health workers—further intervention is critical to containing this outbreak,” Mr Muhammad said at the plenary.

He urged the governor and the Commissioner for Health to dispatch additional emergency relief and medical supplies to the area.

The lawmaker also voiced deep concern over the recurrence of the disease, noting that a similar outbreak claimed several lives in the constituency last year.

Seconding the motion, the member representing Kiru Constituency, Usman Tasiu, revealed that the infection has already crossed LGA boundaries, spreading to neighbouring Kiru communities, including Kwarin Dangora, Dangora town, and Yelwa.

Highlighting the human toll of the crisis, Mr Tasiu shared that a local youth leader in Kiru lost two children to the disease in a day.

He called for the immediate establishment of a joint emergency task force to coordinate containment efforts across Rano, Tudun Wada, Kibiya, Bunkure, Bebeji, and Kiru LGAs.

Joining the debate, Saleh Ahmad, representing Dawakin Tofa Constituency, stressed the highly contagious nature of diphtheria and urged the government to rapidly scale up vaccination drives and preventive health measures before the disease spreads further.

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Meanwhile, House Majority Leader Lawan Husseini advised the executive arm to invoke the provisions of Kano State’s Health Protection Law.

He pointed out that the legal framework authorises the government to deliver free healthcare, issue emergency relief, isolate affected communities, and restrict movement where necessary to curb infectious outbreaks.

Following deliberations, the House unanimously passed the motion. It directed its Committee on Health to engage the Ministry of Health on enforcing the Health Protection Law and delivering immediate relief to the affected communities.

Abubakar Nabulisi, the spokesperson of the state Ministry of Health, could not be reached immediately to comment on the incident. His phone call didn’t connect on Tuesday afternoon.

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has ordered manufacturers of alcoholic beverages packaged in sachets and PET bottles below 200ml to recall the products nationwide.

The agency also ordered the destruction of the recalled products under its supervision, saying manufacturers will bear the full cost of the exercise.

In a statement issued on Monday by its Director General, Mojisola Adeyeye, NAFDAC said the directive followed the signing of an Irrevocable Enforcement Undertaking by the Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria (DIBAN), the Association of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employers (AFBTE), and their member companies.

Under the undertaking, affected manufacturers are required to immediately recall the prohibited alcoholic drinks from distributors, warehouses and other points within the supply chain and submit periodic compliance reports to NAFDAC.

The agency said all recalled products would undergo inventory verification before being destroyed under its supervision.

“The agency wishes to emphasise that all recalled alcoholic products shall be subjected to inventory verification and destruction under NAFDAC supervision in accordance with the terms of the enforcement undertaking,” it noted.

NAFDAC’s supervision

NAFDAC also said manufacturers whose facilities were sealed for producing the prohibited alcoholic drinks would have to “dismantle, permanently disable or reconfigure” the production lines used for the affected pack sizes before their facilities can be reopened.

It said such work must be carried out under the direct supervision and verification of NAFDAC officers.

The agency said reopening of the affected facilities would also depend on full compliance with the recall directive, payment of applicable investigative charges and regulatory fees, successful destruction of recalled products and satisfactory inspection and certification by NAFDAC.

“Companies that fail to comply with the terms of the undertaking risk severe regulatory sanctions,” the agency said.

According to NAFDAC, the sanctions include continued closure of facilities, placement on its Regulatory Watchlist, suspension or revocation of product registrations and criminal prosecution where applicable.

Why NAFDAC is enforcing the ban

NAFDAC said the ban on alcoholic beverages packaged in sachets and small-volume containers followed years of consultations between regulators, manufacturers and government agencies.

The agency said it first raised concerns in 2018 over the widespread availability of high-alcohol-content drinks in sachets and small bottles, which it described as cheap, easy to conceal and readily accessible to minors.

A five-year moratorium was subsequently agreed with manufacturers in December 2018 to allow them to gradually phase out the products and move to larger packaging.

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The moratorium was initially scheduled to end on 31 January 2024 but was later extended until 31 December 2025.

The full ban took effect on 1 January 2026 and covers alcoholic beverages packaged in sachets, PET bottles below 200ml and glass bottles below 200ml.

NAFDAC said enforcement began with manufacturers in January, while nationwide mop-up operations across markets, motor parks, retail outlets, bars and distribution centres followed in July.

The agency said some banned products were still found at distribution centres, leading to the closure of factories and arrest of staff of companies found producing sachet alcohol.

NAFDAC said the enforcement is aimed at reducing underage drinking, alcohol abuse and access to highly concentrated alcoholic beverages in small, inexpensive containers.

“Members of the public are encouraged to report the sale, distribution, or manufacture of alcoholic beverages in sachets and PET bottles below 200ml through NAFDAC’s official communication channels or nearest NAFDAC office,” it added.