Generator fumes kill man, wife, children in Lagos
Below is as reported on SEPTEMBER 15, 2014 BY OLALEYE ALUKO of punch newspaper
A man, his wife, and three children have been killed by generator fumes in the Ipoyewa community, Adamo area of Ikorodu, Lagos.
It was learnt that residents discovered the corpses of the victims on Friday in their apartment.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the man, identified simply as Jimoh, with his wife and children had suffocated to death from inhaling the fume of a generator which was found in their room.
When our correspondent visited the area on Saturday, many residents were seen around Jimoh’s house discussing the incident.
It was learnt from them that the late Jimoh, who hailed from Ilorin, Kwara State, came home on Wednesday with a new generator.
A resident, who begged for anonymity, said the new generator had been switched on in the house on Wednesday evening, and left working through the night.
He said, “The family just got the generator. Jimoh had switched it on for his family that evening. I also observed that it worked all through the night. If you check their apartment, it has both the completed and the uncompleted sections. They lived in two rooms which were already completed.
“I think, when they were about to sleep, Jimoh, for the safety of the generator, might have brought it inside their room, because that was where the people met the generator when the door was forced open. Their corpses showed that they had suffocated to death. They are still lying there, you can go and check.”
When our correspondent got to the apartment, it was observed that the bodies of the deceased had yet to be evacuated from the spot.
On how Jimoh and his family were discovered, a landlord in the area, who gave his name simply as Joseph, said a customer to Jimoh’s wife, had visited the family, and had raised the alarm.
He said, “The woman sold drinks. She was to go with Jimoh’s wife to a place on Thursday for market. When the woman didn’t hear from her, she decided to visit her at home. When she got to their apartment on Friday morning, she noticed that their door was locked. She called the phone number, and saw that it rang inside. That was how she peeped through, and saw the dead bodies. Then, she ran out and raised the alarm.”
Another resident, who gave his name as Salau, said that the police from Sagamu Road Division had visited the place, and had gone to fetch an ambulance to evacuate the bodies.
He said, “Nobody could move near the corpses so that we will not be implicated. The landlords have reported to the Sagamu Road Police Division, and they are making plans to get an ambulance to take the bodies away.”
Speaking with PUNCH Metro, the Chairman, Ipoyewa Community Development Association, Mr. John Oluwole, lamented that the area had been without electricity supply for the past three years, adding that residents grappled with other challenges such as potable water and good roads.
He said, “Every house you see in this area uses a generator. The last time we had power supply was over three years ago. We have about 1,200 residents in the area. We have written letters to the government and lodged several complaints all to no avail. This place is under Ikorodu North Local Government Area, but we have been suffering.
“Recently, each household had to contribute about N60,000 to buy a transformer, erect poles and fix the wires. We are doing everything for ourselves. In this area, we don’t have schools, we don’t have good roads, we don’t have health centre. We don’t have anything. Perhaps if there was electricity supply, this disaster would have been averted.”
The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Ngozi Braide, could not be reached for comments as calls put across to her lines were not responded.
