No fewer than six people have been reported dead and over 60
hospitalized in Amegu village, Ede-Oballa in Nsukka Local Government
Area of Enugu State following an alleged poisoning of pork meat they
took at a funeral ceremony.
According to reports from Ede-Oballa,
more than 60 guests developed severe stomach problems after the
funereal ceremony, prompting their immediate hospitalization.
Investigation by Sunday Sun showed that all the popular hospitals in the
university town of Nsukka including the Catholic Mission- owned Bishop
Shanahan have been flooded with the victims who were said to be in
critical conditions. A woman was said to be the first casualty of the
meat poisoning followed by three girls while it was feared that two
others who are not natives of the community also died.
It was
gathered that a pig farmer who sold the infected animal to a woman (name
withheld) who hosted the funeral, was in police net. Hospital sources
expressed apprehension over the survival of the victims, saying they
ought to have been rushed to the hospital same night. “In a situation
like this, victims should be rushed to the hospital promptly for early
stomach wash”, said a hospital source. The source however said frantic
efforts are being made to save the lives of the victims Another reliable
source suspected that guests at the funeral might have been served the
meat of a dead pig injected by a veterinary doctor.
The source
said the owner of the pig (name withheld) had lied to the woman that the
pig fell into a ditch. Apparently due to the intimidating size of the
pig and its relative cheapness, the woman quickly entered a bargain and
bought the meat not knowing it was sick and had been treated recently by
a veterinary doctor who also advised that in the event of its death,
the animal should be buried. A source quoted the doctor who has been
quizzed by the police as saying that he advised the pig farmer to bury
the animal if it died within three weeks of the injection.
The
tragic incident has caused tension in Nsukka zone where pigs are used at
funeral ceremonies as an imperative and status symbol. It was gathered
that since the incident, guests at burial ceremonies in the area have
been avoiding pork. This has created problems for pig farmers who have
lost patronage due to the tragedy.
Our reporter could not reach
the veterinary doctor at the time of filing this report. A senior police
officer attached to the Nsukka Urban Police Command said that some of
the guests and the pig farmer were helping the police in their
investigation.
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