In the rural communities of Ondo state, southern Nigeria, at least 48 people have died and nearly 200 more have been harmed after consuming locally brewed alcohol laced with methanol — a toxic industrial chemical that destroys kidneys, eyes, and brain within hours of ingestion. The tragedy illuminates a quiet, persistent tension in many parts of the world: where poverty limits access to regulated goods, informal markets fill the void, and the cost of that gap is sometimes measured in lives. Authorities have arrested suspects and announced new regulations, but the deeper question — how societie
Methanol-laced alcohol kills 48 in Nigeria, 100+ hospitalized
At least 48 people died and approximately 182 were poisoned after consuming methanol-contaminated locally brewed alcohol, with victims experiencing blindness, organ failure, and brain damage.