By Rasheed Bisiriyu and Kunle Falayi
Sorrow
and sadness on Thursday enveloped Robiyan, near Ijoko in Ifo Local Government,
Ogun State as residents discovered the lifeless bodies of an 80 year-old woman,
identified as Madam Kuburat, and her four grandchildren, including a toddler in
a newly completed house.
Five
other people who slept in the house were in critical conditions at two general
hospitals as doctors battle to save their lives.
Although
there were different accounts of what could have caused their death, the
Divisional Police Officer of Agbado Police Station, Mr. Okere Daniel, suspected
it could be fumes from a generator.
The DPO
said, “From the physical examination of the victims, it is obvious that they
must have died of carbon monoxide, all foaming from the mouth; this means that
they must be gasping (for breath).
“A
similar thing happened at Obadofin in 2010, when I was a DPO at Alafia. A whole
family was wiped off. It was during a festive period like this; they put on the
generator and locked it up inside the house for use overnight.”
It was
learnt that the generator which was placed in the veranda of the house must
have worked overnight while the doors and windows were locked.
Apart
from the 10 people, a man and his wife also in the house were said to have
rushed their child to a nearby community hospital at midnight when they found
her gasping for breath.
PUNCH
Metro learnt that it was
the woman that reportedly cried out and alerted the whole community to the
tragedy when she returned in the morning and found everybody “sleeping.”
The
traditional ruler of the area, Chief Olu Kujore, said he ordered his men to
break into the house and forced the windows open.
Kujore
said, “We hurriedly rushed those who were still breathing to the hospital. Some
of them were taken to Ota General Hospital while others were taken to Ifako
General Hospital.
“But
two of the kids died before they could be attended to at the hospital and their
corpses had to be returned to the house.”
One of
our correspondents saw the five dead victims before they were taken to the Ota
General Hospital for autopsy.
Another
resident of the area, who identified himself as Baba Michael, said no fewer
than five bricklayers with different sets of workers handled the construction
of the house.
“During
the construction, three times, a section of the house had collapsed and had to
be re-erected,” he said.
A young
lady, Amina Disu, who said she was Kuburat’s grandchild, said they had come to
the village for the Christmas and New Year festivities.
She
recalled that they prepared rice for the family and their neighbours on
Wednesday before she left for business at Mushin in Lagos.
Disu
said, “My mother had a protracted battle with two other people over the
ownership of the land before she eventually built it. And we went through hell
to get the job done.
“My
mother was a fish seller at Mushin. We only came to celebrate the Christmas and
New Year with granny. My brother, his wife and their children were around too.
It was a full house. I was here yesterday (Wednesday). We had fun and had to
serve food to our neighbours.”
She
said she was surprised when her granny’s neighbours called her to inform her
about the incident.
Police
Public Relations Officer in Ogun State, Muyiwa Adejobi, who confirmed the
incident, said the matter would be investigated.
“The
fumes were discovered to have got into the house through the veranda where it
was placed. Three of the victims had died before they got to the hospital,
while two others also died later in the hospital. Five others, who were
affected, are currently recuperating,” he said.
Culled from The Punch
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