Sorrow, grief and anguish unsettled the compound of the Obele family in Ogale, Rivers State on Wednesday. There was wailing from different corners of the house whose occupants had known nothing but agony since January 11.
What could have been responsible for the sudden death of an entire family of six in a single night and in the same enclosure?
Theophilus Obele, father, 49 years old; Eunice, wife, 35; Saka, son, 18; Peace, daughter, 14; Nyimenka, daughter, 7 and Abel Nwaka in-law, 25, all vivacious and young people, slept on Saturday in their village’s two-bedroom flat but could not wake up the next day. They all died untimely with their dreams and aspirations buried in a jiffy.
The Obele 5 returned to their home town in Ogale from Port Harcourt, the capital city of Rivers State on January 1 to enjoy the yuletide in the village as was their regular practice. They spent over a week at the village and got ready to travel back to the city. They invited their in-law, the younger brother to Eunice, wife of Theophilus, to their home to help them in parking their belongings. His arrival increased their number to six.
They had prepared to leave for Port Harcourt on Sunday morning. Theophilus, the father was to resume his work at Onne Port on Monday while the children geared up to return to school the same Monday. Therefore, the Sunday journey was inevitable. Returning to Port Harcourt would take less than an hour’s drive.
The holiday was over and they dreamed of recalling the memories of the period later in Port Harcourt and maybe share their experiences with their friends in the city. But the memories died with them immediately they went to bed on Saturday. They could not wake up to see the daylight of Sunday. Everything paused. No more journey, no more schools and no more work. They were all found stone cold in various positions in the house.
Their deaths shattered the peace of Eleme and sent shockwaves into the spines of everyone that heard about it. How can the entire family die in one night? How can the lineage of one man end in a twinkle without any survivor? Was their untimely demise natural or was there a foul play?
Some wondered if someone had poisoned the food they ate before retiring to bed.
While the confusion of the cause of their deaths persisted, the police said their preliminary investigations suggested that they died from inhaling carbon monoxide from the generator they stationed close to their house.
The police said: “Preliminary investigation suggests possible generator fume poisoning as the cause of death. The generator was reportedly left on in the parlour of the Victims.
“The corpses have been deposited at Last Home Mortuary, Ebubu Eleme, for autopsy. Photographic evidence has been taken, and investigation is ongoing”.
However, the extended family members rejected the first verdict of the police. They maintained that the report was not in tandem with the reality and wondered why the police hastily blamed the cause of death on generator fume.
They argued that since they came back home, the generator had supplied them electricity from the same spot without any issue. Where was the generator located?
Investigations showed that the building where the tragedy occurred is a two-bedroom flat. It has a wide living room. From the main entrance into the living room, there is a door at the right rear that leads to the back of the house.
Behind the door is a balcony and beside it at the right hand side is a three-ft window secured with an iron burglary. It is at that balcony the generator is kept. From the living room at the left rear is a door that opens into another lobby where the master’s and the children’s rooms are located.
This axis of the lobby is far from the balcony where the newly acquired generator was kept. With such distance, most people find it difficult to believe that the generator was capable of producing enough fume to kill the deceased.
The younger brother to Theophilus, Godwill Ogoso, vehemently dismissed the position of the police. He said the deceased bubbled with life on the eve of their death. In fact, he narrated how he spent quality time with his brother till 12am at midnight when he decided to recline into his bed.
He said: “The night before the incident, my brother and family were okay and healthy. We were all together outside till 12am having discussions, because they were supposed to go back on the 11th of January 2026, which was on Sunday.
“He was supposed to resume work on Monday and his kids were expected to resume school too. He works with Onne Port. We were outside till that time when he entered the house and I entered my house too.
“He has been using this same generator on the same spot since 1st of January when he came with his family and nothing had happened.”