According to Punch, 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.
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