SAD! Generator fume kills family of 4 in Kogi

Obajana area of Kogi State was weekend thrown into mourning following the discovery of the decomposing bodies of a man, his wife and two children in their building.

The man was identified as Mr John Oluwasegun Ayodele.

The family of four was suspected to have been killed by fume from a power generator mounted in the house.

The late Ayodele was reported to have been last seen on Friday 28th July, 2017.

Apprehension reportedly set in when the deceased was not seen by his neighbors the following day.

Tension heightened over his continued indoor till Saturday evening with calls on his mobile telephone unanswered.

His cousin, Chief Richard Asaje said they had gone to check on him at home following the stench that was emanating from his house in Obajana.

Consequently, policemen from Obajana Division were alerted and when the door was forced open, the decomposing bodies were discovered.

Asaje explained that power generator fume was suspected as the cause, following the discovery of a power generator there.

According to him, “The incident happened between Friday/Saturday. It should be around 12am Saturday. He put a generator inside his toilet and locked the door. The house is a concrete building and it was discovered that he locked the window.

“Unfortunately, we never knew something had happened the second day; so, we forced the door open following the stench emanating from the house.”

“The Husband should be around 35, but the wife is less than 30 years. The daughter that died is around four years and the last born is a boy and is about three months.

“To us as a family, it is a shocking thing but there is no suspect because their death was caused by the fume of the generator. It has indeed thrown the family into serious mourning mood.

“The entire family will be laid to mother earth on Friday 4th August, 2017 at Obajana Cemetery,” Asaje concluded.

Describing the incident as sudden and unnatural death, the Kogi State Police Public Relations Officer, Asp William Aya said “four people died and we got the information. The police Divisional Police officer went to the place and evacuated the body to the mortuary.

“The cause of the death is yet to be ascertained. It is the autopsy that will ascertain the cause of the death.”

Meanwhile the Kogi State Government has sent a team to Obajana to investigate the circumstances that led to the death of the family of four.

Speaking during an interview with DAILY POST on Monday, the Commissioner for Environment, Kogi State Mrs Rosemary Osikoya explained that his Ministry will liaise with other agencies in the sensitization of the public on the dangers of carbon dioxide and monoxide in their Environment.

“Looking at it from the environmental point of view and the circumstantial evidence available, we have a generator put in an enclosed place, if what we hear is correct, you will find out that there is not enough of it going out, so that possibly could lead to poisoning.

“But until the investigations are complete, there may not be much we could do other than to sensitize the public that it is dangerous to allow their generator to be within their house or sitting rooms.

“It should be kept far away from the house. Carbon dioxide, Carbon monoxide is harmful. It leads to most of the environmental challenges we are having such as flooding. We sympathize with the family and we do hope we take care of our environment and keep our surroundings clean,” the Commissioner added.