3 Men Died After Consuming 'OGOGORO' In Ondo; Seller Flees!

Akure—DETECTIVES from Ondo State Police
Command are working round the clock to
unravel the mysterious death of three
persons after consuming a local gin,
popularly known as ogogoro at Oka Motor
Park in Ondo town, Ondo State.
This is coming as the state government said
last week that it had curtailed the outbreak
of a strange disease which caused the death
of 23 persons at Irele area of the state.
The government said the 23 who died at
Irele consumed poisonous ethanol and
banned the consumption of ogogoro
across the state.
Vanguard gathered that the deceased
persons in this latest incident included a
member of the National Union of Road
Transport Workers, NURTW, in the park, an
electrician and another person working in
the motor park.
It was learned that the three persons
consumed the local gin at the park and
immediately complained of stomach upset.
Other members of the union reportedly
applied local herbs to calm them down, but
they soon became unconscious.
An eyewitness said they died before they
could be rushed to a nearby hospital in the
town, adding that the deaths were
mysterious as other members of the union
usually drank the same ogogoro.
Seller flees
Vanguard gathered that the seller of the
ogogoro had fled the park for fear of arrest
by policemen, who reportedly stormed the
motor park to investigate the incident.
The eyewitness said consum-ption of
ogogoro at motor parks by members of
NURTW was a daily occurrence.
It was also gathered that the deceased had
been buried according to Muslim rites
without undergoing any autopsy to confirm
the real cause of their death.
Contacted, the police image maker, Wole
Ogodo, said: “When I called the DPO of the
Enuowa Police Division in Ondo, he said
nobody had reported the case at the police
station, that they too heard it as rumour in
the town.
“We have commenced investigation and
after the investigation we shall let the whole
world know what actually happened to the
said three persons.”
We ‘re in control— Health Commissioner
It would be recalled that the Health
Commissioner, Dr. Dayo Adeyanju, last
weekend said the state government has
successfully curtailed the ethanol poison at
Irele area of the state.
He said the sensitization efforts of
government had yielded results on the
consumption of the local gin.
The commissioner added that both National
Agency for Food and Drug Administration
and Control, NAFDAC, and SON had
intervened to standardize the brewing of the
local gin and regulate it’s production.
Adeyanju said: “Those that died as a result
of the consumption of the local gin are the
chronic drinkers, while those that just tasted
it have since regained their sights.”
According to him, a high concentration of
the ethanol poison was discovered in the
system of those that died as a result of its
consumption.
Adeyanju pointed out that the ban on the
consumption of ogogoro in the state still
subsists, while government would deal
decisively with those who flouted the
directive.