In Jangeme village in Gusau Local Government Area of Zamfara State, 9 family members have passed away after consuming a poisonous meal.
Abdullahi Bello, an uncle to the deceased who confirmed the incident to Daily Trust, said that the children passed away after eating Tuwo prepared by their sister who visited the family house from her matrimonial place.
“The time she came, she fetched grains from a local silo and then passed it to the machine for grinding. Before the started, a rabbit reared in the house had already kicked the bucket after eating the sorghum flour before she even commenced preparing Tuwo for the children.,” Bello said.
“Even after the rabbit had died, no one had noticed that sorghum floor was contaminated. She proceeded and prepared the food for the children. Few hours after eating the meal, one child struggled for his life and couldn’t make it eventually.
“It was then, we carried the remaining children to a medical facility in Gusau where two of them also died. We still carried the dead bodies of those who died back home. We received a call that three had also died when we were burying them at the cemetery including my younger sister that prepared the meal for them. All eight children and a mother lost their lives to the incident.
“The father and mother of the children who were not around when the catastrophe came on the family are still wrestling to come to terms with what would have led to the passing away of their children. Their mother became admitted after she was withstanding what happened. The whole house becomes empty with only the biological parents of the children remaining,” he narrated.
The only surviving child is lying critically ill at Yariman Bakura Specialist Hospital in Gusau with doctors struggling to fix a respirator on him to support his breathing.
“Yes, the doctors had confirmed that the ailment originated after taking the last meal that day,” the Public Relations Officer of the hospital, Awwal Usman Ruwan Dorawa told Daily Trust.
Had it been, the children were brought to the hospital in time, nobody would have been lost according to the doctors in regrets.
