In a bizarre incident, the victims, who were regulars at the joint operated by one Friday Dickson, popularly called Etiaba, had embarked on their usual routine last Sunday and consumed the local gin. Dickson has been in the business of cooking dog meat delicacies and selling local alcoholic drinks for many years in the Mini-Woji area of the community, so the sudden deaths caused panic.
Apparently, on Monday, most of the people started feeling ill but before they could get medical attention, they died. Their deaths sent panic through the community, as most people who visited the joint are mostly non-indigenes.
A source suspected that the people had consumed high doses of ethanol in the local gin. Another source said the people consumed dog meat while a third version said one Yoruba man, who was a regular at the joint, had bought the regulars drinks, informing them that his people had nominated him for a chieftaincy title.
One source said: “Shortly after taking the local gin, the people started feeling ill and by Tuesday morning about nine of them had died. However, the worrisome part of this is that the man who brought the drinks has escaped and nobody knows his whereabouts.”
Sources in the community put the death toll at 15, as more victims were said to have died yesterday. However, the Rivers State Police Command has said it was aware of only one fatality in the incident, adding that it would carry out a forensic probe to find out the actual cause of death of the victim.
Ahmad Muhammad, the police spokesman, said: “It is only one person who has been confirmed dead as a result of eating the suspected poisoned dog meat. Another person is being treated at the Braithwaite Memorial Hospital, Port Harcourt.”
He explained that the owner of the inn, who is now in custody, reported himself to the police and that they will use forensics to get to the root of the matter. It is not clear if it is the dog meat or the kai-kai that actually caused the death.
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