Tragedy struck in Bolorunduro village in Ondo State and
was thrown into mourning last Wednesday when a family of five died after eating
amala (yam flour). The names of the deceased were given as Michael Onoja,56;
his wife, Comfort 42, Monday, 24; Patience, 21; and the eight-year-old
grandchild, Joy Odoh. A police source told our correspondent that when Onoja
returned from his farm on the fateful day, he instructed his daughter,
Patience, to prepare amala for the family to eat.
The source said, “Some hours after the meal, Joy, who
was spending the holidays with the family started complaining of stomach pain
and shortly after, slumped. She died later at a nearby government hospital.”
It was learnt that the little girl was buried the
following day. The source said, “Few hours after Joy was buried, other
members of the family started having stomach pains and were rushed to the hospital.
It was at the hospital that Onoja told his neighbours that the family ate
amala, and that they had not eaten any other food after that. He and the family
members died one after the other shortly after that.”
The source said the corpse of the deceased had been
deposited at the mortuary of the state Specialist Hospital, Akure while autopsy
had yet to be conducted. Meanwhile, Public Relations Officer of the state
police command, Mr, Aremu Adeniran, said the police had commenced investigation
into the incident.
He said, “The matter had been transferred to the State
Criminal Investigation Department in order to ensure proper investigation.”
It will be recalled that a family of eight also
recently died of same food poisoning in Owerri Imo State months back