Home-brewed gin kills five

2006-01-19 08:15

Abuja - At least five people died on Wednesday in northwest Nigeria after consuming locally-brewed gin, local reports said.

Four of the victims died at Koko Hospital in the town of Bagudo, Kebbi state, while the fifth victim died before reaching the hospital.

Kebbi State police commissioner Ibrahim Machi confirmed the incident, saying that three persons had already been detained.

Two of those detained were the brewer of the alcohol and his wife, while the third person was the retailer that sold the local gin to the victims.

Machi said two policemen were still receiving treatment at the hospital after consuming the gin, adding that all the victims drank the gin till the early hours of Wednesday.

Consumption of locally-brewed gin is commonplace among Nigeria's poor, who cannot afford commercially refined spirits. - Sapa-dpa

- SAPA