{
  "id": 8638632,
  "title": "Methanol-tainted drink kills 48 in Nigeria: food agency",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/20/methanol-tainted-drink-kills-48-in-nigeria-food-agency",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-20T07:09:39.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "KahawaTungu",
    "slug": "kahawatungu",
    "url": "https://kahawatungu.com/methanol-tainted-drink-kills-48-in-nigeria-food-agency/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Nigeria's food and drug regulator announced that alcoholic drinks contaminated with methanol claimed 48 lives and left 182 people ill in recent weeks. These fatalities occurred in three districts of Ondo state in the country's southwest, following the consumption of a locally brewed mixture known locally as \"Monkey Tail\". The first incidents were reported earlier this month and the death toll has continued to climb. Authorities have apprehended 15 suspects for their roles in the production and distribution of the drink, according to a statement released by Nigeria's National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC). The agency reported that after individuals purchased and ingested locally prepared \"alcoholic and herbal concoctions\", \"48 deaths and 182 cases have been recorded\". Tests conducted in a lab revealed the presence of \"high concentrations of methanol\", a toxic substance that leads to organ failure and blindness, as well as the indica strain of cannabis in samples of the suspected mixture. NAFDAC disclosed that five individuals had become completely blind and two had partially lost their sight as a result of the contamination.",
  "summary": "Nigeria’s food and drug regulator on Saturday said alcoholic concoctions tainted with methanol killed 48 people and sickened 182 in recent weeks. The deaths occurred in three districts of Nigeria’s southwestern Ondo state after victims consumed the locally brewed mixture, which local media said is known as “Monkey Tail”. The first cases were reported earlier [...] The post Methanol-tainted drink…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}