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The death toll from consuming suspected locally prepared alcoholic and herbal concoctions in Ondo State has risen to 48, with five people reportedly rendered completely blind, NAFDAC has said.

The agency said it has recorded 182 cases so far in connection with the incident, which has affected communities in Odigbo Local Government Area and parts of Irele Local Government Area.

NAFDAC, in an update issued by its Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, on Friday, said laboratory analysis of samples of the suspected concoctions detected high concentrations of methanol, a highly toxic substance capable of causing blindness, organ failure and death.

The agency said the preliminary findings strengthened concerns that the locally prepared alcoholic/herbal mixtures posed a serious public health risk, although further confirmatory tests were still being conducted.

The affected communities include New Town, Odole, Okele, Orita Odigbo, Araromi-Obu and Oniparaga, with the incident particularly pronounced in Odigbo Town and Araromi-Obu.

According to the agency, the incident was first reported in early September after residents who had reportedly consumed the suspected concoctions began developing sudden and severe illnesses, with some cases deteriorating rapidly.

NAFDAC said initial reports put the number of deaths at 31, comprising 20 deaths in Odigbo Town and 11 in Araromi-Obu. However, continued surveillance and investigation have raised the reported number of cases and deaths.

Of the 182 affected persons, 90 were admitted to hospital and later discharged, while six remain hospitalised.

Another 31 people were treated as outpatients, while five persons reportedly became totally blind and two others partially blind.

The clinical symptoms reported among those affected include headaches, general body weakness and pain, visual disturbances, difficulty breathing and altered consciousness.

NAFDAC also 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.

The agency said it collected samples of the suspected concoctions for laboratory, forensic and toxicological examination to determine their chemical composition and identify possible toxic substances, adulterants, contaminants or undeclared ingredients.

It said 15 unlabeled samples underwent toxicological, microbiological, and chemical screening.

According to NAFDAC, an acute oral toxicity test conducted using laboratory mice showed that all the samples caused critical illness in the animals, while approximately 50 per cent mortality was recorded in six of the 15 samples tested.

The agency said some of the animals that became critically ill recovered within 24 hours, but noted that further exposure could be fatal.

Chemical screening also detected Cannabis indica in 11 samples, while gas chromatography confirmed high concentrations of methanol.

Methanol is an industrial alcohol that can cause severe poisoning when ingested. It can damage the optic nerve, leading to permanent blindness, and may also cause organ failure and death.

NAFDAC said the combination of the high mortality recorded during the animal toxicity testing and the confirmed presence of methanol suggested that the samples posed a serious public health risk.

However, it stressed that the findings remained preliminary pending further confirmatory analyses.

‘Further confirmatory testing is ongoing to quantify methanol concentration and identify other possible toxic agents,’ the agency said.

It added that methanol in oral preparations was extremely dangerous and could cause severe poisoning, including blindness, organ failure and death.

The agency said surveillance, case management, investigation and risk-control measures were ongoing as authorities worked to establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident and prevent further exposure.

NAFDAC said the figures remained subject to verification as investigations and surveillance continued.

The agency commiserated with families who lost loved ones in the incident and urged continued vigilance as investigations into the suspected contaminated concoctions progressed.

Properties worth millions of naira have been damaged in parts of Minna, the Niger State capital, as youths protested the deaths of 37 suspected illegal artisanal miners while in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

The protest, which began on Thursday night, escalated on Friday morning and spread to several parts of the city.

Governor Umaru Mohammed Bago had planned to visit the families of the deceased to commiserate with them but could not proceed with the visit because of the unrest.

The demonstrations started in Tunga and Maitumbi before spreading to Kpakungu, Bosso, Tudun Natsira and Berger areas.

The protesters blocked roads, including the Flamingo Junction, while demanding justice. Vehicles, public property and campaign materials were also reportedly damaged in some areas.

Security personnel, including policemen and soldiers, were deployed to restore order. There were reports of the use of tear gas and, according to some unverified accounts, live ammunition as protesters confronted security operatives.

Unconfirmed reports also said some youths were shot during the protest. A video circulating online appeared to show a youth with an injury to the face at the NSTA park.

The NSTA park was reportedly invaded by protesters who vandalised buses, including vehicles preparing to depart and others that were parked at the facility. Shops and traders’ goods around the park were also damaged, forcing passengers to flee by jumping over fences.

Two banks located near the NSTA park, GTBank and Access Bank, were also reportedly attacked, while traders at Tunga Market hurriedly closed their shops as the situation deteriorated.

Along Bosso Road, protesters reportedly damaged the glass windows of a security post at the Bahago Sports Complex in an attempt to gain access to the facility.

Posters bearing the governor’s image were also destroyed, while the Chanchaga Local Government APC secretariat, opposite Bahago Secondary School, was reportedly attacked.

Vehicles, windows, a security post, televisions and other property were reportedly damaged at the secretariat, while its watchman was said to have sustained injuries from stones and shattered glass.

An AEDC Hilux vehicle and other vehicles belonging to residents and businesses were also reportedly targeted during the unrest.

Motorists have been advised to avoid affected roads as authorities work to restore normalcy.

The state government has imposed a curfew in Minna to prevent further destruction and restore order.

The Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Dr Dennis Brutu Otuaro, has charged 31 Niger Delta beneficiaries of the programme’s overseas postgraduate scholarship to pursue academic excellence and justify the government’s investment in their education.

The PAP administrator expressed appreciation to President Tinubu for his support for the programme, saying the Niger Delta was benefiting from the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

‘The President has demonstrated genuine commitment to the development of our region and the youths’ education,’ Otuaro said.

Otuaro gave the charge when the latest batch of 31 scholarship beneficiaries departed Nigeria for the United Kingdom on Friday to commence postgraduate studies in various universities.

A statement signed by Otuaro’s Special Assistant on Media, Igoniko Oduma, said the scholars, who departed Abuja and arrived in London, were part of 150 beneficiaries, that attended a pre-departure briefing organised by the PAP in August following their deployment.

They were preceded by another batch of 54 beneficiaries, who left the country last week.

The beneficiaries will undertake postgraduate programmes in forensic audit, construction engineering management, data science and analytics, law, software engineering, oil and gas engineering, cybersecurity, global public health and fintech analytics, among others.

Otuaro, who has so far deployed 243 overseas postgraduate scholarships this year, urged the scholars to remain focused, disciplined and responsible throughout their studies.

He said the beneficiaries had a responsibility to reciprocate the support of the President Bola Tinubu administration by excelling in their chosen fields.

‘Those selected for the programme have no option than to appreciate the President Bola Tinubu administration’s goodwill by excelling academically to justify the sacrifice made for them by the government,’ he said.

According to him, the scholarship scheme is.part of efforts to bridge the human capital development gap in the Niger Delta and produce a new generation of professionals capable of contributing to the region’s development.

Otuaro said: ‘The huge benefits of the investment in the Niger Delta youths’ education will be felt in the years to come.

‘Apart from closing the human capital development gap, we are building a community of intellectuals that will be the light of our region in the interest of peace, stability and development of communities in the country.’

He maintained that education remained a critical instrument for achieving sustainable peace, stability and socio-economic development in the Niger Delta and Nigeria.

He also commended the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, for his support and contributions to the implementation of the PAP mandate.

Otuaro further thanked stakeholders of the Presidential Amnesty Programme for their cooperation, while reiterating his commitment to using human capital development to promote sustainable peace, stability and development in the Niger Delta.

The President of Singapore, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, has invited President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to visit Singapore as the country seeks to strengthen its relationship and deepen cooperation with Nigeria.

Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Jimoh Ibrahim, disclosed this in a statement by the Nigerian Mission House at the United Nations, New York.

Ibrahim said Singapore’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Burhan Gafoor, visited the Nigerian Permanent Mission House, where he delivered a letter from President Shanmugaratnam inviting Tinubu to Singapore.

Gafoor also congratulated Ibrahim on his emergence as Chairman of two prominent UN committees – the Fifth Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Matters and the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations, also known as the Committee of 34 or C-34.

Receiving the letter, Ibrahim thanked Gafoor for the invitation and assured the people and government of Singapore that Tinubu would find time to visit the country in the nearest future.

He said the President’s economic reforms had attracted international attention and generated interest from countries such as Singapore in sharing experiences with Nigeria, particularly on multilateralism and national development.

Ibrahim compared the boldness of Tinubu’s reforms with the transformation associated with Singapore’s first Prime Minister, the late Lee Kuan Yew.

‘President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is making bold economic reforms like the first Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew. His achievements are enviable and continue to generate concern to countries like Singapore to share experience in multilateralism,’ Ibrahim said.

He said Tinubu holds President Tharman in high esteem and congratulated Singapore on the reforms that transformed the country.

According to Ibrahim, Nigeria is also undergoing reforms aimed at transforming the country into a modern contemporary state where the interests of everyone would be protected and Nigerians would begin to enjoy a viable economic proposition.

‘Nigeria is currently going through reform in order to transform herself to a modern contemporary state, where interests of everyone is protected and Nigerians begin to enjoy a viable proposition,’ he said.

Ibrahim also disclosed that his office at the United Nations had witnessed increased diplomatic engagements in recent weeks.

He said the British Ambassador to the UN visited him last week, followed by the Ambassador of Guyana a few days later, before Gafoor’s visit.

The envoy said his leadership of the UN committees would be guided by fairness, accountability and efficiency.

On the Fifth Committee, Ibrahim assured member states of equitable treatment in the allocation of resources.

‘I will be fair to all in allocation of resources under the Fifth Committee, and every country will have a say. The United Nations will be impartial to member states under the reform of accountability and efficiency,’ he said.

The Fifth Committee is responsible for the administrative and budgetary matters of the United Nations, while the C-34 deals with issues relating to UN peacekeeping operations.