It was a horrific scene, on Friday, in Benin-City, the Edo State capital, when seven members of a family died of food poisoning, shortly after taking a meal.
The incident took place at No. 40, Otete Street, off Textile Mill Road, Ogida Quarters, Benin-City, in Egor Local Government Area of Edo state, but the house was later deserted, over fear of arrest.
One of the sympathisers, Mrs. Christy Igbinadolor, whose apartment was opposite the house of the victims, disclosed that in the morning, while reading and studying her Bible, a man came to ask her about her neighbours (the victims), but she asked him to move to the house and knock the door, stressing that if there was no response, he should get to a nearby police station to report.
She revealed that the man knocked the door without response, left and later brought some policemen and some members of the victims’ church, thereby breaking the door to find some of the victims dead and others were rushed to the Edo state government-owned Central Hospital Benin, with two of the children still in school uniform.
Mrs. Igbinadolor also disclosed that the head of the family, an evangelist, who lost his pastor wife five days earlier (last Sunday), was not at home when the incident happened, but he was later informed and came down, revealing that some of the man’s grown-up children had babies.
The neighbour also disclosed that the man’s children were the ones staying in the house, while two of the man’s children were staying elsewhere, but they decided to come and mourn their mother’s death in Benin, when the incident happened.
Edo State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Chidi Nwanbuzor, stated that he had not been briefed of the incident, as at press time.