A widow has spoken out following the de@th of her husband and two children after they consumed amala in Ohuepe, Okehi Local Government Area of Kogi State.

The three family members suffered vomiting, weakness and other signs of suspected poisoning.

They di£d on August 14, 2026, two days after consuming the food made of cassava flour.

The widow, popularly known as Mama Rahama, said she narrowly escaped d£ath because she ate only a small quantity of the amala prepared from cassava flour.

Her four-year-old son, Mikail, who refused to eat the meal, also survived.

Recounting her ordeal, Mama Rahama said she bought the cassava flour from a local market and personally prepared the amala for her family as dinner.

She said the family ate the meal and went to bed, but by the following day, those who had eaten it began experiencing severe weakness.

“Except my four-year-old last born, Mikail, who refused to eat the food, my husband, Rahama, Rabiyat, Samad, Senani and Haliru ate the amala for dinner,” she said.

According to her, her husband and two children, Rabiyat and Samad, ate more of the food, while she only took a small quantity because she had recently been discharged from hospital.

“I could only take a little because I had poor appetite and had just been discharged from hospital,” she said.

She said the situation became worse the next day when those who ate the meal developed severe weakness, vomiting and stomach pains.

“As the situation became worse, four of us were rushed to Ado Ozuka Hospital in Ogaminana.

“But Rabiyat di£d, followed by Samad and later my husband, all within a few hours on the same day,” she said.

Mama Rahama, who has since been discharged from the hospital, appealed to the Kogi State Government and individuals to support the surviving members of her family.

Another incident followed the tragedy in Ikoyi, Ihima, where four children reportedly di£d after eating a meal prepared from cassava flour.

Residents said nine people from two families ate the meal last Thursday evening, with some of them eating the leftovers the following morning.

A resident, Al-Hassan Idris, said those who ate the food began experiencing weakness before developing stooling and vomiting of blood.

“Before noon, all of them who ate the food were gripped with body weakness, which later turned into stooling and vomiting of blood at the critical stage.

“They were rushed to the hospital, but unfortunately, four children di£d – two from each of the two families,” he said.
Two children di£d on Friday and the remaining two on Saturday.

Idris added that a dog that was given some of the leftover food also vomited and di£d.

The second incident brings to seven the number of people reported de@d in the two incidents in less than two weeks.

Idris said both incidents had thrown the community into mourning.

The chairman of Okehi Local Government Area, Monday Amoka, said efforts were being intensified to save the five other victims who were still receiving treatment.

He said samples of the suspected food had been collected and sent to a medical laboratory in Lokoja for analysis to establish the actual cause of the de@ths.

The Kogi State Government has also ordered an investigation into the incident.
In a statement, Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo directed the Commissioner for Health to commence a comprehensive investigation.

The Commissioner for Information and Communications, Kingsley Femi Fanwo, said the investigation would determine whether the food consumed by the victims was contaminated or whether other medical or environmental factors contributed to the de@ths.

He said relevant samples and evidence would be examined in line with established public health procedures.