A family of four has been reported dead in Ugbo Paul, a suburb of Abakpa Nike, in the Enugu East council area of Enugu State, after eating a food suspect to have been poisoned.
The dead persons were three family members and their maid.
Only a baby girl, 9 months, survived the tragedy, as she was not fed with the food.
The victims were identified as Lawrence Chukwu who was head of the family; his wife, Chizoba; their daughter, Nazareth and the maid, Ukamaka.
A neighbour, Mrs Gloria Dominic, said that the family went to bed on Friday without any incident.
Dominic said the neighbourhood woke up on Saturday morning to find the family members struggling for life. While they were confused on what could have happened to them, Dominic said they were immediately rushed to the 82 Division Army Hospital. She hinted that the maid died later that day.
“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,” Dominic added.
The mother of late Chizoba, Mrs Elizabeth Nwankwo, confirmed the incident on Tuesday.
“I received a phone call on Saturday after the maid died. 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,” she said.
While lamenting the tragedy, Mrs Nwankwo said the remains of her grandchild had been taken to her home town in Ameta Mgbo, in the Awgu LGA of Enugu State for burial, while the bodies of the couple were in a morgue.
She said the hospital informed her that the food the family ate before going to bed was contaminated with a poisonous substance.
Nwankwo appealed to Nigerians to come to her aid to take care of the family’s only surviving child.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Daniel Ndukwe, said he had no such information, but promised to find out and was yet to do so as of press time.
