Mother, four children die of suspected food poisoning in Anambra

Five persons, including a mother and her four children, have died in circumstances suspected to be food poisoning at Abubor Nnewichi community, in the Nnewi North Local Government Area of Anambra State.

The victims, who hailed from the Okwuchukwu family in the Ihiala Local Government Area of the state but resided in Nnewi, died after taking their dinner on Monday, PUNCH Metro findings revealed.

An eyewitness and family source who spoke with our correspondent on Wednesday gave the victims’ names as Onyinye, mother; Miracle; Dominion; Amanda and Kosi, children, and said they died before they were rushed to the hospital.

According to the source, their father, who was not around when the incident happened, was rushed to the hospital after suffering a shock on returning home to meet members of his family lying lifeless.

The source said, “A mother and her four children died after consuming a meal that was their dinner. We do not know what the real food was because they had finished eating it before the incident happened. But from the appearance of the remnants from the plates, it looked like a cassava meal.

“Their father is battling to survive at a hospital where he was rushed to, as he was in terrible shock on getting home, even though he did not eat the ‘killer food.’

“It was a rude shock and sad development to the community. The case has been reported to the police station in the area and the bodies of the victims have been recovered and deposited at the morgue,” he said.

Our correspondent gathered that two other siblings of the family, a boy and a girl, escaped the death as they were in the village and not living with their parents in Nnewi.

It was further gathered that the food that caused the death of the victims was being subjected to an investigation because while some alleged it was a takeaway they brought in from outside, others said they ate cassava food they prepared in their home.

When contacted by PUNCH Metro on Wednesday, the Anambra State Police spokesman, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed the incident, saying that the matter was reported to the command.

Ikenga said, “Yes, it is a case of sudden and unnatural death reported to the command. The bodies of the victims have been recovered and preserved in the morgue for autopsy in a follow-up to unravel the circumstances surrounding their deaths.

“It involves a woman and her four children. Further details shall be communicated, please.”