The Ondo State Government has requested a coroner’s inquest into the deaths linked to the consumption of suspected toxic alcoholic drinks and herbal concoctions in parts of the state.
The move is aimed at establishing the circumstances surrounding the deaths and determining the causes of the fatalities, which the state government had previously put at 49.
The outbreak has affected communities in Odigbo and Irele Local Government Areas.
The development follows investigations into suspected poisonous substances consumed by residents, with authorities also reviewing regulatory measures around the production and sale of locally prepared alcoholic and herbal products.
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control had earlier reported that laboratory analysis detected high concentrations of methanol in samples collected in connection with the outbreak.
