Wall Gecko allegedly wipes out family of Six in Ogun
The neighbourhood of Mowe in Ogun State has been thrown into mourning after a family of six was discovered stone dead in the early hours of Friday.
The cause of death is suspected food poisoning after a wall gecko had allegedly walked on their food.
The victims have been identified as Mr Adeleke John Samuel, a Chartered Accountant, his wife, two children and two other relatives.
Sources said they are believed to have kicked the bucked after eating food on which wall gecko had trampled upon.
The sad event was uncovered when their gateman, Mr Lawal Ojo suspected the unusual quietness in the house at day break.
He alerted the neighbours who broke into the house only to discover the bodies of the victims in different rooms.
They were all in the sleeping posture, the source said, indicating that they probably passed on in their sleep.
According to an eyewitness, Mrs Ifenatuora Ijeoma, the poison might have been ingested in the course of the family’s dinner the night before.
She reiterated that, on close inspection of the kitchen utensils, a dead wall gecko was discovered inside a pot of soup by one of the neighbours.
The Wall Gecko is a small slippery house lizard originally native to South East Asia but is now found across the world.
It had, at different times, been associated with lethal food poisoning.
According to a medical practitioner, who simply identified himself as Dr Omotosho: “Geckos are ordinarily harmless. However, the lizard carries lots of bacteria in the mouth which can cause serious harm when ingested by humans.”
As at the time of filing this report, the police had waded into the matter, even as the cause of death still remained a subject of conjecture.
The deceased man was aged 55, the wife Mrs Pamela Adeleke, 50 , the children roughly aged between 13 and 19 years old, our findings show.
Courtesy: The Eagle
