Man dies after local gin drinking competition

The Homicide section of the State Criminal Investigations Department (SCID), Panti, Yaba, Lagos State have launched investigation into the death of a security guard who died while having a local gin drinking competition with his friends.

The deceased, Thompson died after taking two big bottles of a local gin called Alomo Bitters and smoking five sticks of cigarettes.

The incident happened on May 7, 2015, at the Agege area of Lagos State. The case was initially reported at Isokoko Police Station and later transferred to SCID.  

Police said that Thompson, after buying two bottles of the local gin for his friends, who he met at a local joint, had a bet with them.

The challenge was to see if he could drink a full bottle of Alomo Bitters and smokes five sticks of cigarette within a stipulated time. According to police, if he wins, his friends would pay for the drink and cigarettes, otherwise Thompson would pay for their drinks and cigarettes.

After agreeing to the terms, Thompson opened the bottle of Alumo Bitters, drank and smoked two sticks of cigarettes within two minutes. He was about to leave when his friend called him back and egged him into smoking three more sticks of cigarettes. After smoking the fifth cigarettes, he started feeling uncomfortable. He stood up and staggered. He started sweating profusely and breathing heavily.

One of his friends, Earnest Joseph, who initially tried to dissuade him from taking up the challenge, took him home when he noticed he could not walk properly. At home he vomited severally and later died around 8pm.

Joseph said: “We went out to a nearby local hot drink vendor popularly called Tee-Sugar. Thompson bought a shot of dogoyaro N50 and bought N30 sachets Chelsea for each of us. From Tee-Sugar joint, we went to another vendor in the neighbourhood. Immediately we got there, we met some of Thomson’s friends. He ordered for two full bottles of local dry gin ogogoro which we drank together.

“As soon as we finished consuming the first bottle, Thompson and his friends began to speak their local dialect which I don’t understand. All of a sudden, the vendor brought a big bottle of Alomo Bitters. I asked Thompson if he was the one that ordered for a bottle of Alomo Bitters, but he said no. He wanted to prove to them that he could drink a bottle of Alomo Bitters and five sticks of cigarettes. I tried all I could to stop him. I followed him when I noticed he wasn’t himself. As I tried to assist him, his legs became too heavy to move. I called a commercial motorcycle to take him back home. When we got to his compound, it was another of his relative called Daniel who assisted me to take him inside his room. We removed his shoes and his shirt so that he could sleep.”

Joseph said they didn’t think of taking Thompson to hospital because he was always drunk and they felt it was the same story as usual. They thought he would sleep it off.  

“When he vomited on himself, nobody knew because we left him inside and went for a walk. One of his friends named Culture later called Daniel that Thompson was dead around 8pm. I told Daniel that I suspected that he died because of the large quantity of Alomo Bitters that he took. Policemen from Isokoko arrested me because I was the one that brought him home in that condition before he died.”