No fewer than seven persons from the same family in Runjin Barmo village of Kajiji District in Shagari Local Government Area of Sokoto State have reportedly died as a result of consumption of contaminated food.
This was revealed in a statement signed and made available by the Information Officer, State Ministry of Health, Nura Bello, on behalf of the state commissioner for health on Sunday.
According to the statement, the village head of the community, Malam Muhammadu Modi, while narrating the incident to the Commissioner for Health, Hajiya Asabe Balarabe, who led a delegation to the area, revealed that the victims consumed the food during their dinner.
According to him, “The victims comprised the father, Malam Abubakar, his wife, A’ishatu Abubakar, and their five children.
“The incident happened last Wednesday, and the cause of the death is yet to be confirmed.
“He said this was because the suspected cassava has been used by about 4 houses in the village, and not any case of illness was recorded in those houses.”
According to the statement, the village head, on behalf of the inhabitants of the area, thanked the state governor, Ahmed Aliyu, for expressing concern in that incident.
In her statements, the state commissioner for health stated that they were in the village to determine the reason for the occurrence and then communicate with the state government to take appropriate action.
The commissioner stated that the ministry would collect samples from one of the children who happened to be alive after consuming the food.
She, on behalf of the governor, expressed condolences to the people of the area and begged Allah to forgive those who died.
She urged the people of the state to ensure prompt reporting of any strange disease in their domains for the ministry’s intervention.
