Viral Mum Declared Wanted Denies Feeding Baby Alcohol, Says It Was Coca-Cola in Bitters Sachet

A Nigerian woman who sparked national outrage after a viral video appeared to show her feeding her five-month-old baby with alcohol has come forward to deny the allegations, claiming the liquid in question was Coca-Cola.

The video, which circulated widely last week, showed the mother giving the infant a drink from a sachet labelled “Action Bitters” with an accompanying caption suggesting the substance was administered nightly to help the baby sleep. The footage triggered widespread condemnation, prompting the Nigeria Police Force to declare the woman wanted on suspicion of child abuse and endangerment.

However, in a new video that began trending on Wednesday, the unidentified woman offered an explanation, saying the sachet did not contain alcohol but soft drink. According to her, she had emptied and washed the bitters sachet before refilling it with Coca-Cola as part of a staged act aimed at gaining social media traction.

“About the video I posted earlier, that is not Action Bitters. It is Coke. I poured Coke into the sachet. Since I posted the video, people have been dragging me on social media,” she said.

She insisted that the video was never intended to be taken seriously and described it as a failed attempt at content creation. “To be sincere, it was Coke I poured into the Action Bitters sachet. I even have a video on my phone showing when I was doing it. My baby is just five months old. I would never give her Action Bitters. I am not that kind of mother. I do not even take it myself,” she added.

Apologising for the public backlash and concern the video caused, she pleaded with Nigerians for understanding, saying the intention was not to harm the child.

“To clear the air, it was Coke I poured into the sachet, and I washed it before using it. I was just trying to create content, nothing more. We are begging Nigerians, please forgive us,” she said.

The police have yet to issue a formal response following the woman’s clarification video.