Couple, three children, friend die mysteriously in new house

Shock was the word to describe the countenance of residents in Sagamu, Ogun State yesterday following the mysterious deaths of five family members and an unidentified friend of the family.

The deceased family, including a father, mother and three children, whose aged ranges between three and 10, were said to have died the very first night inside their new house located on Aiyepe Road in Sagamu from suspected poisonous chemicals.

It was gathered that the incident, which happened on Wednesday night, yesterday threw the entire neighbourhood into mourning. A source, who spoke with our correspondent, said the family members had just moved into their new house from a rented apartment when the mysterious deaths occurred.

The source stated that a family friend, who also spent the night with them, lost his life. According to the source, the information available to him suggested that the house might have been fumigated with “killer chemicals.”

One of the sympathizers, who accompanied the bodies of the deceased to the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH), Sagamu, told newsmen that the owner of the house, a borehole driller, had just spent a night inside the new house.

The sympathiser, who simply identified himself as Tony, said they noticed an offensive odour on Thursday morning, which attracted them to the building. The alarm raised by residents, Tony stated, attracted the attention of policemen to the house.

The policemen subsequently evacuated the bodies and took them to the OOUTH morgue.

When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, confirmed the incident. Oyeyemi, an Assistant Superintendent of Police, however, said the case was still a mystery, adding that the command would do everything possible to unravel the circumstances surrounding the deaths.

Meanwhile, a seven-year-old girl yesterday lost her life following a kerosene explosion in Sapele area of Delta State. The explosion was reportedly caused by adulterated kerosene.

According to an eyewitness, the girl was said to have bought kerosene from the market and as she got home, she poured the kerosene in the stove before she noticed the colour was different. She was said to have poured the remaining kerosene in a basin, after pouring it she gave a little distance before lighting a matchstick, which resulted in the explosion the burnt the girl and wrecked havoc in the area.

The girl was rushed to the hospital after the explosion with vital parts of her body severely burnt. About 18 rooms were razed down destroying property worth millions of naira.