No fewer than three people have reportedly lost their lives in Oka motor park in Ondo town, Ondo State, after allegedly consuming a herbal drink made of local gin.
It was gathered that the deceased persons took the gin, also known as ‘ogogoro,’ to treat dysentry and fever.
The incident happened at the weekend barely 24 hours after the Ondo State government declared an end to the strange disease that killed 23 people in Ode-Irele in Irele local government of the state.
It was gathered from a source that the deceased included a member of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW ) in the park , an electrician and one other person who also worked in the motor park.
The source narrated that the trio, on Saturday morning, shortly after drinking the concoction, complained of severe stomach pain and later became unconscious, and their colleagues, in trying to revive them, gave them some local antidotes but to no avail as three persons gave up the ghost in the evening of the fateful day.
Also speaking on the incident, a chieftain of the union in the garage, who did not want his name mentioned in print, expressed shock and sadness over the death of the victims, saying the death might have been as a result of the herbal drink that the deceased drank .
According to him, the seller of the herbal drink, who is said to be a regular supplier of the drink at the motor park , took to his heels immediately after the incident for the fear of being arrested by the security agents.
He added that consumption of the said herbal mixture was not a new thing in the park as all of them there drank it on daily basis without any negative effects on their body system.
It was also gathered that the deceased had been buried according to the Muslim rites without undergoing any autopsy to confirm the real cause of their death.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, (PPRO ), Mr Wole Ogodo, yesterday, explained that the matter had not been formally reported to police but came as rumor
“ 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 rumor in the town.
“ But we have commenced investigation on it and after the investigation we shall let the whole world know what actually happened,” Ogodo stated.