Fear grips Umuaka families as five siblings die of food poisoning in Anambra.

The manner the sad news hit Umuaka town last week was as if the ugly incident happened in Umuaka or a nearby town. The reason the news made waves in the community was attributed to the commercial 18 sitter bus which arrived Umuaka from Onitsha on the very day with Afor Umuaka based traders who heard the sad news in Onitsha where they went to order new goods and eventually broke the news as their bus hit Afor Umuaka. The sad news? Ogidi, a famous Igbo speaking town of about 70,000 inhabitants and the headquarters of Idemili North LGA of Anambra State is on the centre stage; the town was last week thrown into a deep mourning mood following a highly inexplicable tragic incident that occurred in the Anambra town. Even as at press time last week, mourners, extended family members, church groups, community based organizations and individuals were still paying condolence visits to the family which suffered the tragic human losses.

Saturday, May 3, 2025, Ogidi, the town of globally acclaimed literary giant, Chinua Achebe played host for the devil as five siblings died after eating a meal prepared by their mother. Umuaka Times correspondents who made contacts to Ogidi town confirmed that the siblings were the children of a 79 year old Robinson Aghalu who had retired from the military more than 10 years ago. According to reports that emerged after the deaths, trouble started shortly after the food was eaten by the children as each of them went into vomiting. As the vomiting continued, they were rushed to some undisclosed hospitals by neighbours for proper emergency handling of their cases. None of them left the hospital alive!

Available fillers reporters gathered showed that as time went on, the 5 siblings were pronounced dead by doctors one after the other at their different hospitals. The sole survivor who equally ate the food was the mother of the children who doctors were seriously battling to save her life as at press time last week. An Ogidi villager who reached out to Umuaka Times confirmed that the only surviving child of the couple was not at home during the meal time because he was living with a family relative somewhere. “If not, the whole children would have died.”

According to highly reliable family sources, the bodies of the 5 siblings have been deposited at various mortuaries in town and the police authorities have confirmed the ugly incident. Umuaka Times also confirmed that a medical team from the police command has also taken samples of the food for forensic analysis.

The tragedy of couples losing their children after meal is not a new incident in Nigeria and some other countries too. Many states across the country had got their own dozes of such deaths and perhaps may get more if proper care is not implemented. According to Daily Trust newspaper of Monday, 9 December 2024 2, two siblings named Loveth Charles aged 9 and her brother, Solomon Charles aged 6, reportedly died after consuming cassava meal. The incident took place in Abuja.

Around September 2024, the children of Mr Callistus Egbo, who owns Elohim Primary and Secondary School in Agu-Uwani in Nenwe, Aninri Local Government Area of Enugu State. According to the Pointer newspaper suffered similar fate; “…the family ate the beans on Tuesday evening and suddenly became unwell, killing one kid that evening and the other two the following day.”

From Linda Ikeji’s Blog, came yet another ugly report which wrote, “Tears flowed like a river as the remains of four siblings who died from suspected food poisoning were laid to rest in Umukonu Umuagu Ohuhu in Umuahia North Local Government Area of Abia State. The deceased comprising three males and one female, Kelechi, 12, Sunday, 10, Oluomachi, eight (female) and Kingsley (three) were buried shortly after their deaths.

A family man known as Augustine Nwokedi, his wife, Josephine and four children, died of suspected food poisoning at their residence in Ozubulu community, Anambra State. Also in Zanfara State, precisely in Jangeme village in Gusau Local Government Area, 10 siblings died after eating a meal suspected to be poisonous. Facts gathered from some reliable newspaper reports show that, “The father of the children, Abdullahi Bello, said after the meal the family became helpless as the children were dying one after the other.”

In a special report by BBC News, 4 members of the same family from Enugu South local council also lost their lives after eating meals suspected to be poisoned. For now, health experts and nutritionists across Nigeria have advised Nigerians to always be careful and wash thoroughly their food items before cooking or eating them.