Police in Ondo State have arrested 14 suspects over the sale and consumption of alcoholic drinks suspected to be linked to the deaths of 29 people in Odigbo Local Government Area. The arrests followed an enforcement operation after the state government banned the sale and distribution of unverified alcoholic drinks.
Police spokesperson, DSP Abayomi Jimoh, in a statement in Akure on Sunday, September 13, said the suspects, comprising alleged sellers and consumers, were arrested in the affected communities and transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department for further investigation. Authorities are probing the source, production, composition, distribution and consumption of the suspected drinks.
Jimoh said substances suspected to contain methanol had been recovered and submitted for forensic examination to determine their exact composition and possible connection to the reported deaths. The development comes as health authorities continue medical interventions, while post-mortem examinations are being conducted on the deceased.
The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Banji Ajaka, had earlier confirmed 29 deaths and 60 suspected cases across communities including Araromi-Obu, Orita Odigbo, Newtown, Odole, Okele and Oniparaga.
Police urged residents to avoid unlabelled or suspicious alcoholic drinks and herbal concoctions, assuring that anyone found culpable would face prosecution after investigations.
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