Three family members and their maid have died after eating a meal suspected to have been poisoned in Enugu State.
According to Punch, Mr. Lawrence Chukwu; his wife, Chizoba; their daughter, Nazareth; and the maid, Ukamaka died after eating poisoned food in Ugbo Paul, a suburb of Abakpa Nike, in the Enugu East council area of Enugu State.
It was gathered that only a nine-month-old baby girl of the family survived the tragedy, as she was not fed with the food on Friday night.
A neighbor, Mrs Dominic Gloria, said a test conducted on Saturday morning showed that the food the family ate before they went to sleep on Friday night was contaminated with a poisonous substance.
Gloria said, “We woke up on Saturday morning and found the family members struggling for life. We didn’t know what was wrong with them and they were immediately rushed to the 82 Division Army Hospital. Later that day, their maid died.
“After a series of tests, we learnt that the food they ate before they went to sleep on Friday night was contaminated with a poisonous substance. Unfortunately, all efforts to save them failed, as the man and his wife died on Saturday, and on Tuesday morning, their two-year-old daughter equally died.”
The mother of late Chizoba, Mrs Elizabeth Nwankwo, confirmed the incident on Tuesday, saying that she received a phone call on Saturday after the maid died.
She added, “So when I got there, I saw my daughter and her husband lying speechless. I took the remains of the house help to her parents for burial and before I came back, my daughter and her husband had equally died. This morning (Tuesday), their two-year-old daughter that I was hoping would survive died.”
Mrs. Nwankwo, who lamented the tragedy, said the remains of her grandchild had been taken to her hometown in Ameta Mgbo, in the Awgu LGA of Enugu State for burial, while the bodies of the couple were in a morgue.
The woman said the hospital informed her that the food the family ate before going to bed was contaminated with a poisonous substance. She appealed to Nigerians to come to her aid to take care of the family’s only surviving child.
KanyiDaily had also reported how a young boy was apprehended after he connived with his elder brother to poison their boss’ family with insecticide in Anambra State.
