At least 48 people have died and around 100 others have been hospitalised in southern Nigeria after consuming a locally brewed alcoholic drink suspected to contain toxic methanol, officials said on Thursday.
Ondo State Commissioner for Health Banji Ajaka said 182 people had been affected across the Odigbo and Irele local government areas, reports AP.
He warned that methanol poisoning can rapidly damage vital organs, leading to kidney failure, blindness and brain damage.
Local residents suspect that a popular high-strength herbal alcoholic concoction known as “Monkey Tail” was adulterated with methanol.
Ondo State Police spokesperson Abayomi Jimoh said 15 people had been arrested, including a producer suspected of making the toxic drink.
Unregulated and low-cost locally produced alcohol is widely consumed in rural areas across Nigeria.
The deaths come as Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control continues enforcing a nationwide ban on alcohol sold in sachets and small plastic bottles.
