Ebonyi: Police confirm gas explosion led to death of Patoranking’s sister, husband

The Police in Ebonyi have confirmed a gas explosion that led to the death of a couple in their residence in Abakaliki, the state Capital.

This is contrary to rumours of an inverter explosion or dynamite shared on social media.

According to the police, a preliminary investigation by its officers indicated that it was a gas explosion that killed the couple Mr George and Mrs Chioma Obasi.

The late Chioma is said to be the sister of a popular Afrobeats singer, Patoranking.

The couple were said to have suffered serious injuries emanating from the explosion which happened recently at their residence.

After the explosion, the couple were rushed to an undisclosed hospital in Abakaliki by neighbours where they have been receiving treatment.

It was further gathered that Chioma died five days after the incident while her husband, George also died yesterday, the family source told DAILY POST.

The couple left behind a 3-year-old son who was said to be upstairs watching cartoons with his father’s phone when the gas explosion occurred.

Since the incident, there have been conflicting reports on the cause of the explosion that led to the couple’s death.

While some claimed it was an inverter battery explosion, others alleged that it was a gas explosion while a third claim had said it was a dynamite planted by enemies of the couple.

The latter theory has gained traction on social media following reports that the couple had recently celebrated the completion of their new mansion, leading to suspicions of foul play.

A neighbour who spoke on the issue contended that the blast was a bomb explosion as it damaged almost everything on the ground floor of the building.

He said: “They were my neighbours. We only heard the sound of an explosion on Sunday afternoon. When we rushed to the compound smoke was coming out of the new building with all the electronics spoiled including the ceiling, doors and windows damaged with glasses.

“At first we thought it was a gas cylinder explosion. It is not any inverter, it is only God who knows what was implanted in that house. It sounded like a bomb,” he said.

The Police in the state, however, debunked the allegation of a dynamite or inverter blast attributing the incident to a gas explosion.

Spokesperson of the command, Joshua Ukandu, stated this while speaking to our reporter.

“Preliminary investigation shows that it was a gas explosion. It is suspected that there was probably a gas leakage and they opened the door and maybe a small spark ignited it,” he said.