At least 48 people have died in a suspected toxic-drink crisis in Ondo State, according to the latest account Health Commissioner Banji Ajaka gave the Associated Press on Thursday, 17 September. Ajaka told AP that 182 people were believed to have been affected across Odigbo and Irele local government areas, with about 100 receiving treatment and some others already discharged.
Those figures differ from the commissioner’s briefing to Nigerian journalists in Akure on Wednesday. Premium Times, Punch and Vanguard reported that briefing as 49 deaths and about 170 people affected, including admissions and fatalities, with eight deaths recorded in Irele. The discrepancy may reflect the rapidly changing response or different reporting cutoffs; the available sources do not provide a reconciled official line list.
The reported toll has risen repeatedly
Earlier reports centred on Araromi-Obu, New Town, Odole, Okele, Orita Odigbo and Oniparaga in Odigbo LGA before cases were reported in Irele. The toll has changed repeatedly as surveillance expanded—from 24 deaths in early reporting to 29, then 39 and the current range of 48 to 49. That progression does not mean every death occurred on the day of the latest announcement.
The precise toxic substance has not been established in the public reporting reviewed. Ajaka referred to harmful alcohol exposure, while police said a substance suspected to contain methanol was recovered and sent for forensic examination. Those accounts should not be collapsed into a confirmed laboratory finding: ethanol and methanol are different chemicals, and the test result has not been announced.
The contaminant is still under investigation
Ondo police spokesperson Abayomi Jimoh told AP that 15 people had been arrested. Police said one of them was suspected of producing a drink that may contain methanol and was assisting the investigation; Nigerian reports identified that suspect as Oloruntoba Babatunde, also known as “Meko.” Arrests are investigative steps, not findings of guilt, and the alleged link between any seized product and the deaths still requires evidence.
Ondo officials say medical and surveillance teams have been deployed and that the state is working with NAFDAC, the NDLEA, security agencies and local authorities. The government earlier restricted the production and sale of unauthorised locally brewed alcoholic and herbal mixtures in affected areas. Enforcement alone will not establish the cause; traceable sampling, clinical records and transparent laboratory results are needed.
Public-health guidance on toxic alcohol exposure warns that early symptoms can include nausea, vomiting, headache and dizziness, while visual disturbance, confusion, seizures or breathing problems can signal severe poisoning. These are general warning signs, not a diagnosis of the Ondo cases. Anyone who becomes ill after consuming an unregistered or suspicious drink should seek urgent medical care and bring information about the product if it can be handled safely.
What residents should know
NAFDAC advises consumers to buy registered drinks from reputable outlets, examine seals and packaging, and report suspected illegal production. A normal smell, colour or bottle is not proof that a drink is safe, and home remedies cannot reliably identify or neutralise toxic alcohol. Residents should follow specific disposal or surrender instructions issued by Ondo authorities rather than tasting a questioned product.
The next essential updates are the forensic identification of the contaminant, a reconciled case and death count, a clearer breakdown of recoveries by locality, and confirmation that no new clusters are appearing. Until those results are published, the responsible description is a suspected toxic alcoholic-herbal drink investigation—not a confirmed single-source methanol outbreak.
