The Ondo State Government has launched an investigation into the deaths of more than 24 people following a suspected poisoning incident in Odigbo Local Government Area of the state.
Several other persons affected by the incident are reportedly receiving treatment at different hospitals, while the government says it is yet to establish the exact cause of the deaths.
Commissioner for Health, Dr Banji Ajaka, disclosed the development in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), saying health officials had been deployed to the affected communities.
The government is also collaborating with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), World Health Organisation (WHO) and other relevant agencies as part of efforts to determine what caused the deaths.
The incident reportedly affected mainly youths in Odigbo and Araromi-Obu communities, with the deaths occurring over the weekend.
Ajaka said preliminary information indicated that the incident might be connected to the consumption of an alcoholic substance, but cautioned that the claim had not been established.
“We want to conduct a thorough investigation to know the cause. From our preliminary report, it is possibly an ingestion of alcoholic substance,” he said.
The commissioner explained that determining the exact number of casualties remained difficult because some victims had already been buried, others were in mortuaries, while some were still receiving treatment in hospitals.
He said officials would continue to gather information and conduct medical and laboratory investigations to establish the actual cause of the deaths.
Ajaka urged residents to refrain from circulating unverified claims or attributing the deaths to any particular substance before the completion of the investigation.
The state government said its priority was to establish the cause of the incident and ensure appropriate measures were taken to protect residents in the affected communities.
