Police in Ikem in Isi-Uzo Local Government Area of Enugu State, have arrested a principal suspect (name withheld) and a nurse, in connection with the death of five family members of suspected food poisoning.
The victims – Barnabas Ikeze, his wife, Angela, and their three children, Divine, Gift, and Victor – were said to have developed severe stomach cramps in the morning after taken their evening meal on August 29.
Their death was said to had occurred between August 30 and 31, this year.
Family member, Pastor Ignatius Ikeze of Neke Akpani Autonomous Community in Isi-Uzo Local Government Area, who spoke to some journalists in Enugu, said although he was not around when the incident happened, neighbours and family relations immediately rushed them to the FaithLand Clinic, a hospital in a neighbouring community in Ikem, headquarters of Isi-Uzo LGA, since there is no functional hospital in the community and the entire Neke Town.
Pastor Ikeze stated one of the children, Divine, died on the road to the hospital, while Gift, the only daughter, died on getting to the hospital, leaving four: their father, mother, first son, Marvellous, and the last child, Victor, being admitted in the hospital.
“Unfortunately, they also died on Sunday night in a dramatic turn of events, with only the first son surviving,” he added.
Pastor Ikeze said he went to a conference in Abuja and was informed of the unfortunate incident when he returned on Saturday, August 30.
Said he, “On Sunday, August 31, I went to the hospital, saw my brother, wife, and two other sons alive. I went to the mortuary and saw the two who had died.
“It was said that after they ate food on Friday night, the food was poisoned. On Saturday morning, all of them began to have severe stomach cramps, and they were rushed to the hospital, and two died. Then, the remaining four were there.
“When I came, my brother, Barnabas, told me that he was hungry, and I bought food for them. The other two sons were also recovering. We all chatted. Although the wife was on oxygen, she responded to greetings.
“She was just recovering, and in the evening, I went out, and one of my sisters was taking care of them.
“When I returned in the evening, she narrated a story to me that one man who was alleged to be responsible for my brother’s family condition, that when they were having our clan meeting just a week before the incident had openly said he would deal with my brother.
“He said he would kill him, because there was a case raised in that meeting, and he spoke the truth. The suspect (name withheld) saw him as a threat and swore to eliminate him.
“And this person in question had been consistently saying that he would wipe out all my family members because of a land dispute, which the entire community adjudicated, and we won.
“Since the land dispute victory, the man swore that he would wipe out our entire family,” he claimed.
The pastor his sister told him that this very man came from their village at Neke, to the hospital in a neighbouring community.
According to him, when he came and stood at the door, one of the nurses, after discussing with him, “was calling my sister to distract her, but she refused.”
He claimed that the man who came with another young man then went away with the nurse.
After listening to her story, the pastor said he decided to stay in the hospital till Monday morning to take them out of the facility.
“So, that Sunday night, I slept there with two of my sisters. Around 9 to 10 pm, after they had taken their medications and slept, one nurse came in and told us that it was not convenient for these two children to stay in the same ward with their parents, that there was a room she had prepared, that she would take the children there while their parents remained where they were.
“I was even thinking it was for good intentions and thanked her. Then, she told one of my two sisters there with me to carry the last child, and they left the room.
“I followed them to the nurses’ room, and we sat down. The nurse now returned to where my brother and wife were staying and called out the other of my sister and my brother’s first son. All of them came out to stay with us.
“Then, there was no one again in the room with my brother and wife. Immediately, I remembered what my sister had told me earlier in the day.
“So, I rose and rushed to their room and saw the nurse removing the oxygen from my brother’s wife’s nose. She removed it and was putting something inside her mouth.
“Instantly, I shouted, ‘Nurse, what are you doing?’ The only thing was that my phone ran out of power, otherwise I would have videoed the scene. So, immediately, I shook her; she had already gone,” he narrated.
The pastor said he reported that matter to the police who promised to arrest the nurse immediately, and the man who threatened his younger brother, they would arrest the next morning.
He added that before they could return to the hospital from the police station, “my brother, who was already recovering, whom we all ate and discussed with, and his youngest son, who was already playing, had all died.”
The first son, who was taken by a woman to her hospital bed, was the only one who survived,” he said.
“As all of them died, I don’t know what to do again. I carried the only one that survived to Enugu immediately in the wee hours on Monday.
“I went to the ESUT Parklane Teaching Hospital, but nobody to attend to us at the emergency. There was no doctor present, and I was advised to go to the Niger Foundation Specialist Hospital.
“I rushed him to the Niger Foundation, and after a thorough medical examination, they wrote prescriptions, which he started taking.
“The following day, they referred us to the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital to carry out further diagnostics.
“At that moment, the survival of the son, Marvellous, was what preoccupied my mind,” he explained.
The principal suspect was taken to the State Criminal Investigation Department, but released the nurse at Ikem Police Station.
“At the SCID, the Ikem Division was asked to provide the nurse. The following day, they brought the nurse. She came with her husband and the doctor who owns the hospital,” the pastor said.
He revealed that even the doctor asked him not to make a case with the matter and allow the dead to rest, “but my brother’s soul and those of his family members will not rest without justice.
“I want justice for my brother, his wife, and his three children. They deserve justice, and we are appealing to the Enugu State government to ensure that justice is served in this matter.”
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Enugu State Command, SP Daniel Ndukwe, was not immediately available for reaction, and he could not be reached on the telephone.
