Ondo Govt Confirms Death Of 24 Residents After Consuming Herbal Drinks

No fewer than 24 residents of two communities in the Araromi Obu and Odigbo towns in the Odigbo Local Government Area of the state have lost their lives following the consumption of a herbal liquid substance.

Naija News learnt that the incident, which reportedly occurred on Saturday, has thrown the affected communities into mourning.

Confirming the incident to Punch, the state Commissioner for Health, Banji Ajaka, said investigations were underway to establish the actual cause of the deaths.

Ajaka did not give details of the substance but said medical and health officials would conduct further assessments in the affected communities to determine the cause of the deaths.

he said, “The government is taking the matter seriously and we will provide more details after the ongoing investigation has established the circumstances surrounding the incident.”

Similarly, a source in the area who spoke to the aforementioned publication said the deceased consumed the substance on Saturday at different locations but later became unconscious, leading to their deaths.

The source said, “They (the deceased) drank the herbal substance and started dying, eight people died in Araromi Obu while 16 lost their lives in Odigbo town, but we are yet to confirm if it is what they drank that killed them but we are sure that the people died after drinking the herbal drinks.

“Some of the people died in their sleep while some died when they got home and many are still in the hospital as I am talking to you.”

Also speaking on the development, the Chairman of Odigbo Local Government, Taiwo Adegoroye, said the deceased consumed the substance before the incident, adding that they were waiting for a medical team to carry out autopsies to determine the actual cause of the deaths.

According to the chairman, a ban had been placed on the sale and consumption of locally brewed alcoholic drinks in the area as a precautionary measure.

Adegoroye added that a preliminary verbal autopsy conducted by the local government health team indicated a possible link between the reported deaths and the consumption of the substances.