By Jonathan Ugbal
The member representing Ogoja/Yala federal constituency in the green chambers of the national assembly, Honorable Agom Jarigbe has promised to foot the medical bills of the victims of the food poisoning saga at Oboso, Mbube community of Ogoja local government area.
This is even as the State says the Police have arrested a man (unnamed) suspected of emptying herbicides into the pot of soup sold by the vendor which led to the current crises.
Jarigbe made the promise when he visited the victims who are still alive and prayed with them for quick recovery.
A video footage obtained by CrossRiverWatch shows Jarigbe praying for the quick recovery of the victims and expressing optimism that the saga will be over soon.
Sources close to him says he has spent over half a million Naira already for treatment.
Agom later described his discovery in a Facebook post as the height of inhumanity.
“When I visited the Ogoja General Hospital today to visit those hospitalized as a result of food poisoning, little did I know that the unfortunate situation which occurred in Oboso in Mbube east community was an act of man’s inhumanity to his fellow humans. May God forgive us,My PEOPLE were poisoned by one of their own. I met about 40 people at the Gen hospital, Ogoja who ingested poison from food they ate in a local food vendor’s place, We lost the food vendor & her husband to this act of inhumanity by one of us, What’s happening? We need to turn to God,” Jarigbe wrote
Meanwhile findings reveal that the deceased food vendor, Anna Erah who sold food at Aragbang-Oboso roundabout in Mbube may have had her food poisoned by a youth from a neighboring community who as a form of vendetta against Oboso, poured herbicide into the melon soup prepared by the deceased Anna while her husband, Edward Erah who also sold palm wine at the same venue had eaten the said soup.
A statement circulated by one Anokwuru Uche who is in the press corps of the ministry of health says the young man has been arrested by the police.
The statement which said all victims are in a stable condition also said this was to dispel rumors that 3 communities were at risk of a ‘strange illness’ after the poisoning of their drinking source.
But, the state had issued a statement earlier on that 3 communities were at risk after a strange illness which had led to some deaths was discovered with medical teams dispatched to the area to control the situation.
The Police could not be reached for comments as at the time of filing this report.
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