The Ondo State Police Command has arrested a suspect allegedly involved in the production of substances suspected to contain methanol, following the sudden deaths of about 30 residents of Araromi-Obu and other communities in Odigbo Local Government Area of the state.
The command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Abayomi Jimoh, disclosed this in a statement made available to journalists on Sunday evening.
Jimoh said the suspect was assisting the police with investigations, adding that substances suspected to contain methanol had been recovered and subjected to further investigation and forensic examination.
He said the tests would determine the exact composition of the substances and establish whether they were linked to the reported deaths.
According to the police spokesperson, the bodies of the deceased were also undergoing medical and forensic examinations to provide further evidence on the actual cause of death.
Jimoh disclosed that operatives of the state Criminal Investigation Department had arrested 14 suspects, comprising alleged sellers and consumers of the drinks and concoctions, at different locations in the affected communities.
He said the Commissioner of Police, Felix Ohagwu, had directed sustained enforcement against the production, distribution and sale of unapproved, adulterated or otherwise dangerous alcoholic substances across the state.
The development followed the Ondo State Government’s confirmation on Friday that the death toll from the suspected consumption of contaminated alcoholic beverages in Araromi-Obu and other communities in Odigbo Local Government Area had risen to 29.
The Commissioner for Health, Banji Awolowo-Ajaka, said 60 cases had been recorded, with 29 deaths, three patients receiving treatment in hospitals and 27 others under medical observation.
Awolowo-Ajaka said about 95 per cent of those affected were males aged between 16 and 55. The cases were recorded mainly in Orita Odigbo, Araromi-Obu, Newtown, Odole, Okele and Oniparaga communities.
He said the victims presented with symptoms including headache, body pain, general weakness, visual disturbances, difficulty breathing and altered consciousness.
The commissioner added that some patients deteriorated rapidly and died within a few hours of developing the symptoms.
