diff --git a/metropolis/node/kubernetes/networkpolicy/networkpolicy.go b/metropolis/node/kubernetes/networkpolicy/networkpolicy.go
index 618ff03..c43ef40 100644
--- a/metropolis/node/kubernetes/networkpolicy/networkpolicy.go
+++ b/metropolis/node/kubernetes/networkpolicy/networkpolicy.go
@@ -75,7 +75,10 @@
 	eventBroadcaster.StartRecordingToSink(&typedcorev1.EventSinkImpl{Interface: c.Kubernetes.CoreV1().Events("")})
 	recorder := eventBroadcaster.NewRecorder(scheme.Scheme, v1.EventSource{Component: "npc"})
 
-	nft := nftctrl.New(recorder, node.LinkGroupK8sPod)
+	nft, err := nftctrl.New(recorder, node.LinkGroupK8sPod)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to create nftables controller: %w", err)
+	}
 	defer nft.Close()
 	l := supervisor.Logger(ctx)