TRAGEDY struck in Aule area of Akure, Ondo State capital, on Wednesday,
as a grandmother, three children and a family member were found dead.
The grandmother, a mother-in-law to the father of the kids and the
family member, who was writing his National Examination Council (NECO)
examination died mysteriously.
The father of the kids, Kehinde Ajayi, 33; his wife, Banke and one of
the children, Samuel, were also said to be in critical conditions at the State
Specialist Hospital and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Owo.
Already, detectives from the Criminal Investigative Department (CID) of
the Nigeria Police have commenced investigation to unravel the cause of the
multiple deaths.
There were, however, divergent views over the cause of their death, as
some people believed it was food poison, while others claimed it was spiritual.
Residents of the area, in Akure South Local Government Area, woke up in
the early hours of the day to find the lifeless bodies of the deceased. They
also rushed those found unconscious to hospitals.
Narrating the development to newsmen, one of the neighbours, Muyideen
Raheem, said the father had, last week, rushed to his house seeking assistance
for some of his children who were found unconscious in the house.
“Myself and another neighbour rushed to his house and we found the
children lying on the floor and we began to pray till they woke up.
“Kehinde also prayed into water and sprinkled it in the house and on the
children and they got up. We advised him to take the children to the hospital
for medical attention, but he said it was not hospital matter.
“On Sunday, my wife told me Kehinde came to the house to show his appreciation,
but just yesterday (Tuesday), we began to hear noises. When we got to the
house, we discovered that the wife’s mother, three of the children and the
wife’s nephew who had come to sit for the ongoing NECO exams were already dead,
while Kehinde, his wife and Samuel, their son, were still alive but
unconscious,” he said.
He gave the names of the dead children as Mary, Abigael, Dara, Michael
and Samuel.
At the Ondo State Specialist Hospital, the Chief Medical Director, Dr
Ikuomola Ayodele, said five members of the family were brought in dead while
the rest were in critical condition.
He said the husband and the son had been referred to FMC, Owo, while the
wife, who has regained consciousness, “is receiving treatment at the emergency
unit of the hospital.”
The CMD, however, noted the cause of their death had not been
ascertained, adding that all the symptoms indicated that it could be food
poisoning.
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