The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has confirmed that 48 people have died while 182 others are critically ill following the consumption of locally prepared alcoholic and herbal concoctions in Ondo State.

NAFDAC Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, disclosed this in a statement issued to journalists in Abuja on Friday evening.

According to Adeyeye, the incident affected several communities in Odigbo Local Government Area of the state, including New Town, Odole, Okele, Orita Odigbo, Araromi-Obu and Oniparaga.

She said the incident was first reported in early September 2026 after several residents suddenly fell ill and died after consuming the suspected herbal substance.

Adeyeye explained that initial field reports put the death toll at 31, comprising 20 victims in Odigbo Town and 11 in Araromi-Obu, while several others were hospitalised or placed under medical observation.

However, she said continued regulatory and public health investigations had pushed the reported fatalities to 48, with 182 people recorded as critically ill.

She added that 90 affected persons had been admitted and subsequently discharged, while six remained hospitalised and 31 were receiving outpatient treatment.

The NAFDAC boss further disclosed that five people had reportedly become totally blind, while two others suffered partial blindness.

“The general clinical features reported among affected persons included headache, generalised body weakness and pain, visual disturbances, difficulty in breathing and altered consciousness, with some cases reportedly deteriorating rapidly,” she said.

Adeyeye disclosed that 15 people had been arrested in connection with the suspected production, sale and distribution of the implicated locally produced alcoholic and herbal beverages.

She said NAFDAC had collected samples of the suspected concoctions for comprehensive laboratory examination and toxicological studies to determine their chemical composition and identify potentially toxic substances, adulterants, contaminants or undeclared ingredients.

According to her, the agency conducted toxicological, microbiological and chemical screening on 15 unlabelled samples submitted to its laboratory.

She said an acute oral toxicity test using laboratory mice, conducted in accordance with official methods and OECD standard guidelines, recorded critically ill animals, while approximately 50 per cent mortality was recorded in six of the 15 samples analysed.

Adeyeye said the findings indicated significant toxic potential in the samples, although further confirmatory analyses were still required.

She disclosed that chemical screening detected cannabis indica in 11 samples, while gas chromatography confirmed the presence of a high concentration of methanol.

According to the NAFDAC boss, methanol is highly toxic and can cause severe health complications, including blindness, organ failure and death.

She said the combination of high mortality recorded in the animal testing and the confirmed presence of methanol strongly suggested that the samples posed a serious public health risk.

Adeyeye, however, stressed that the findings were preliminary and required further confirmatory testing.

She said additional analyses were ongoing to determine the concentration of methanol and identify other possible toxic agents in the substances.

The NAFDAC director-general warned that methanol in oral preparations was extremely dangerous, as ingestion could result in severe poisoning, blindness, organ failure and death.

She described the Ondo incident as a significant public health concern, noting that the reported figures remained subject to verification as investigations and surveillance activities continued.

Adeyeye commiserated with the families of the deceased and prayed for the repose of the souls of those who lost their lives, while assuring that laboratory analyses and investigations would continue to identify the toxic contaminants responsible for the tragedy.