Thursday, September 10, 2026 - Twenty-four persons have been confirmed de@d after consuming a herbal liquid substance in Araromi Obu and Odigbo town in Odigbo Local Government Area of Ondo state last Saturday, September 5.
A source in the area told Punch that the deceased persons
consumed the substance on Saturday at different locations but later became
unconscious, leading to their deaths, while some others who also consumed the
substance were rushed to the hospital.
“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.”
Confirming the incident, the Chairman of Odigbo Local
Government, Mr 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.
“We can
confirm the de@th of 24 people, eight in Araromi Obu and 16 in Odigbo town and
many are still on admission at hospitals. But we are yet to ascertain the cause
of the de@th and we are still waiting for the team from the state Ministry of
Health to carry out the test on the deceased. That is why we can’t specifically
say the real cause.”
The chairman also said he had placed a ban on the sale and
consumption of locally brewed alcoholic drinks in the area as a precautionary
measure.
According to him, a preliminary verbal autopsy conducted by
the local government health team indicated a possible link between the reported
de@ths and the consumption of the substances.
The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Banji Ajaka, also
confirmed the incident, saying investigations were underway to establish the
actual cause of the de@ths.
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