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Ogogoro scare! *Stay off, officials warn, as six die after local gin consumption
Ogbogbo, an agrarian community in Ijebu North-East Local Government Area of Ogun State was last Tuesday, thrown into mourning when six persons lost their lives after drinking local gin, allegedly served by their friend.
It was reliably gathered that though there was a disagreement among the six friends and the suspect (now at large) over an undisclosed issue, some persons mediated and had it settled.
It was also gathered that though the six persons who drank the alcohol died, the seventh person who reportedly served the drink without partaking in the drinking was alive.
Vanguard, quoting a resident in the area, an alcohol seller had been accused of selling poisonous gin, which led to the death of people, adding however that upon investigation, they gathered that the killer drink was served by one of the deceased person’s friends.
A few hours after they had departed to their various destinations, news filtered into the town that two of the friends had died while four others were hospitalised, only for the other four persons to have died the following day while the suspect was reported to have fled over the incident.
The source said: “It was later that night that the news started breaking that those who drank from the alcohol were dying while some of them were rushed to the hospital.
“Six people have been announced dead and the whereabouts of the man who brought the alcohol was unknown.”
The mysterious death has created anxiety in Ijebuland over the alleged killer-drink in circulation, with a viral statement, saying: “Ogogoro drinker. There is a dangerous and killer local gin currently in circulation in Ijebuland. Over six people have gone to the burial ground in the last week. Save your life by totally abstaining from any herbal mixture made of ogogoro right now.”
The joint where the alleged contaminated alcohol was served has been put under lock by the local government authority, while the family of one of the victims is said to have relocated from the town, since the head of the family was dead while that of another victim, said they were not interested in talking with anybody on the matter.
Solomon Awonuga, a community leader, however, offered: “When I heard about it, I thought it was a joke until it turned out to be true. What I can only say is that may God continue to protect us. Nobody can confirm that the gin was poisoned by their friend.”
Another person, who spoke under the condition of anonymity said: “We thank God that we still have some of them that survived. One of them was discharged from General Hospital, Ijebu Ode last week Friday.”
Thought the said survivor, was said to have travelled to Lagos State, another resident, said: “Though he was not there, what he heard was that the seven of them were friends, but there was a misunderstanding between them and some persons summoned them to settle the disagreement.
“They gathered at the residence of the seventh person, whose mother sells local gin (ogogoro) for reconciliation. After the reconciliation, the man brought out the gin for drinking; after that, everybody went to their various houses, only for them to hear that some of them died before dawn. Others were rushed to hospital but later died.”
Omolola Odutola, spokesman of the Ogun State Police Command, who disclosed that the families of the victims said they were not interested in pressing charges but prefers to bury their dead, added that nobody has been arrested in connection to the incident.
Odutola said: “Since the families of the victims had said that they were not interested in pressing any case, a warrant for burial had been issued to them by the police for them to bury their dead.”
She clarified that they were not killed by the woman who sold alcohol. The state police command has deployed crack detectives to Ogbogbo for proper investigation.”
Stating that no arrest had been made so far, she assured that the command would not leave any stone unturned in its bid to unravel both the immediate and remote causes of the incident, warning against speculations until investigations were concluded.
Dr Tomi Coker, Special Adviser to the State Governor on Health, while confirming that about eight persons had died while 11 others were in critical condition, said there were reports of 11 cases of severe illnesses and eight deaths directly linked to the consumption of locally brewed alcoholic products.
Coker said: “It is of utmost importance to only consume products that have been officially approved and certified by NAFDAC. The unauthorised production and distribution of alcoholic beverages and other consumable items pose significant health risks as they are often manufactured in unregulated and unhygienic conditions, making them potential breeding grounds for harmful substances and toxins.
“Such substances can lead to severe health complications and, in some cases, fatal outcomes, as evidenced by the recent incidents in Ijebu North-East and Odogbolu LGAs. We, hereby, urge the public to report any suspicious locally brewed alcoholic drink to the appropriate authorities or NAFDAC.”
The Special Adviser added that residents should also report any case of illness or death after consumption of similar products including herbal concoctions to the nearest government hospital.
Chidi Odinkalu, Nigeria’s fiery lawyer, law teacher and former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), is emphatic that President Bola Tinubu is pushing to perpetuate himself in office, beginning with gaming the electoral process in 2027.
Odinkalu, Professor of Practice in International Human Rights Law at the Fletcher School, told his host Naija Unfiltered, a popular Nigerian podcast programme, that he was as sure as death that the President would not exit office in 2031, if he succeeded with his current gambit to remain in power beyond next year.
Hear him: “Yes. But as I said, let me repeat myself. There’ll be a third term. President Tinubu has not done all of this just for another four years. There will be a third term. And anybody who is doing, ‘it is not our portion,’ is not reading the evidence.”
To achieve this aim, the activist, who was also emphatic that the National Assembly, would play a role, added: “The current National Assembly is anything but national or an assembly. And if it’s an assembly, it’s not a parliamentary one. Many people have called it a rubber stamp, but I think that is actually abusive of rubber stamps. I think this National Assembly is a disgrace.
Citing how bizarre and completely compliant the national legislature had become to Tinubu, the ex-NHRC’s boss, stated: “If you can change your national anthem in less than 24 hours with no public hearing, no public consultation, no public involvement, it tells you you don’t have a country because a national anthem is fundamental to the construction of a national identity.”
Also referring to the current move by the President to introduce state police, Odinkalu, wondered how the Nigerian Senate would introduce the bill to that effect and proceed towards the first and second readings, as well as committee stage and passage in less than two hours, questioning how that was possible in normal clime.
Hear him: “Once we finish our elections, we’re going to amend our Constitution, introduce a single six-year presidential term. The current incumbent will be elected until 2031. In 2031, what will happen? The question will be, will he be entitled to run on the six-year term or will he not?
“You will then get the best Senior Advocates in Nigeria telling you the law is not retrospective. That is why the administration is supporting the litigation over President Jonathan’s tenure—not because the Constitution is not clear, but because they will say there is precedent. There will be a third term, and I’m prepared to bet on it.”
“If we continue to pay ransom, we are encouraging these criminals to kidnap more people. The cycle will only continue unless we stop rewarding criminality,” were the words of Dauda Lawal, Governor of Zamfara State, with which he blamed those in the habit of paying ransoms as the major factor fuelling the current wave of kidnapping incidents across the country.
Lawal, on Thursday at the ARISE News/THISDAY Town Hall Conference on State Police and National Security in Abuja, told his audience how he flatly refused to pay a ₦300 million ransom demanded by kidnappers who abducted his brothers in 2019.
Reiterating his opposition to negotiating with bandits and renewed his support for the establishment of state police, Lawal, while recounting the incident, said: “My own brothers were kidnapped in 2019, and the kidnappers demanded about ₦300 million. I told them I was not going to pay a dime. If they wanted to kill them, they could go ahead.”
Stating that his brothers were eventually released without any ransom being paid, he argued that paying ransom usually emboldened criminal groups by providing financial incentives for further kidnappings.
He added: “My position on ransom payments remains unchanged. I will not negotiate, and I will not pay ransom to any criminal, no matter what happens.”
Endorsing the move for the establishment of state police, to enable governors have greater operational authority over security within their states, he regretted that the current constitutional arrangement left governors with responsibility for security without corresponding powers to direct security agencies.
His words: “In as much as I am called the chief security officer of the state, I do not have the command-and-control authority to direct the operations of the security agencies. I’m prepared to support the funding of state police if the proposed policing structure is established. I’m confident that decentralised policing will improve intelligence gathering, response time and the overall fight against insecurity.”
Exactly seven years, two months and four days after he forced Walter Onnoghen, the 16th Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) out of office, Danladi Umar, former Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), on Thursday, found himself in Kuje prison.
Justice Peter Kekemeke, of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), sitting in Maitama, handed the ex-CCT boss the unwelcome package on Thursday, following his arraignment by the Federal Government on a four-count corruption charge.
Umar’s ordeal began after an investigations revealed that he abused his official position by conferring an undue advantage on himself while serving as head of the tribunal, having in 2021, reportedly using his wife’s bank account to collect the sum of N5.5 million from a contractor engaged to paint the headquarters of the CCT in Abuja.
He was also accuse of using the same account to collect another N6million on January 25, 2024, from a contractor who handled the digitisation of the CCT’s records and yet another N2.43 million a contractor paid as tuition fee of his daughter at Baze University, Abuja.
After pleading not guilty to offences, said to be punishable under section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000, Christopher Mshelia, lawyer to the FG, prosecuting the matter, applied for his remand in a correctional facility, while urging the court to set a date for the commencement of trial.
His pleas to be freed on bail pending the determination of the case, was opposed by the prosecution, which drew the court’s attention to the fact that it had just been served with the bail application, saying it needed time to respond to it, forcing Kekemeke to adjourn the case till July 15 for hearing while the former CCT boss remained behind bars.
Umar, had as CCT Chairman, on January 23, 2019, issued a controversial ex parte order that led to the removal of a serving Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen.
Following the ex parte order, the late President Muhammadu Buhari, on January 25, swore in the next most senior jurist of the Supreme Court, Justice Tanko Muhammad, to take over the leadership of the judiciary as Acting CJN.
Even though Onnoghen later voluntarily resigned his position as CJN on April 4, Umar went ahead and convicted him on April 18, 2019, on the federal government’s allegation that he had failed to properly declare his assets as required by law.
He gave the federal government the go-ahead to confiscate all monies in five accounts belonging to the former CJN, and also removed him as Chairman of both the NJC and the Federal Judiciary Service Commission (FJSC).
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