Revealation of how 38 illicit gin drinkers met their death...SEE PHOTOS

ONE OF THE DEAD VICTIMS

Firstclass newsline learnt that atleast 38 residents of Woji and other
communities in Obio/Akpo, Bonny and Gokhana Local Government Areas,
Rivers State, breathe their last breath, 24-72 hours after drinking
suspected toxic locally brewed gin, popularly known as Kai Kai at a
dog meat joint have emerged.
Proprietor of dog meat joint, Mr. Friday Dickson, purported to have
laced the delicacy with killer- seasoning, hotly denied the
allegation. He spoke toNiger Delta Voiceat the Woji Police Divisional
Headquarters, where he is under custody. Irate youths razed his
restaurant, but Dickson, who has been in the business for over a
decade, recalled that a man called Chikobi and Chiefo brought the
local gin to his restaurant that Sunday allegedly to celebrate his new
chieftaincy title.
Curiously, the celebrant did not drink the gin he brought. The wife
of one of the victims corroborated Dickson's story. The mysterious
Chikobi, said to be a Yoruba man from Ogun state, is on the run after
the episode but Dickson said he could recognize him if he sees him.
There is also a puzzle on how the killer-gin got to Bonny and Gokhana
local governments. Chikobi came to Woji but there is no information on
who took the gin to aforementioned two local governments.
Except he left Woji for the Bonny and Gokhana after the "celebration
of death" or they were other merchants of death. Investigation byNiger
Delta Voicerevealed that many of the victims expired wrestling with
death, vomiting and complaining of abdominal pain. Some lost their
vision, cried of chest and waist pains.
Jarry fought death
Niger Delta Voicewitnessed the death of a victim, Mr. Jarry, who
passed away inside a tricycle that was conveying him home. The poison
apparently reacted at the point, as he started struggling with unseen
forces at the back seat of the Keke NAPEP. The panic-stricken tricycle
driver took to his heels. Our reporter saw him go to meet his Maker.
Akpan left church to dine with the devil.
The death of Engr Joseph Akpan is pathetic. He left a Church service
on the ill-fated Sunday against the counsel of his wife and a church
member to partake in the drink at the dog meat joint. Moreover, after
the drinking spree, he refused to confess to his apprehensive wife, a
nurse, for possible medical assistance.
His bereaved wife, Mrs. Pauline Apkan, "On Monday, I was called that a
man is dying within Mini-Woji and that the person drank kai kai. When
I got there, I told the people to take him to the hospital that I
cannot handle such case and my husband was having pity for the man the
way he was shouting and rolling on the floor. Later the man died.
"I remembered that on Sunday, somebody called my husband while we were
in the church and he left me in the church to honour the call. A man
close to him in the church asked him to wait until after service then
he can go and answer the call, but he refused. Maybe they told him
they want to start.
"Earlier on Friday, he told me that there is a man they gave
chieftaincy title in his community and he is coming to that restaurant
to celebrate it. I told him that he should not go that I do not like
him going to that restaurant often, but he started shouting at me,
that is it because he told me? I said the man may poison him, he said
do I think the man will bring poison to all the people there," Mrs.
Akpan asserted.
Her words: "So when the issue of that his friend, Fabian, that just
died and other three people came up and all relating to the people
that went to the bar, I asked him to tell me the truth if he went to
that bar to drink, but he denied and said he only went there to
charge his phone."
Too late, he died in my hands ‑Wife
She continued, "Later, one man came and told me to look for an
antidote for my husband that he met my husband drinking at that
restaurant on Sunday. On Tuesday morning, he woke up saying that he
cannot see again. I said but it is daybreak, he continued shouting
that he cannot see.
"Soon, he said his waist and chest. That his chest is very hot I
called my pastor he said I should pray for him. He started rolling and
groaning, then he died in my hands. "The poison is not from the dog
meat, it is thatkai kaithey drank. Some people who came here said
people who bought only dog meat are not dying that it is only those
who drank the kai kai," she added.
I know nothing about the local gin- Dog meat joint operator
Owner of the dog meat restaurant, Mr. Dickson, toldNiger Delta
Voice:"I have been in this community doing this job and I did not kill
anybody. That Sunday, I was inside my restaurant busy with other
things I do not know what happened outside. "I only heard that one man
that use to come to my restaurant, he is from Yoruba, broughtkai
kaifor all the people there to drink. Me I do not know anything about
it."
Asked if he used other special condiments in preparing penultimate
Sunday's delicacy, Dickson said, "I used all the ingredients that I
have been using since my 10 years in Woji. I do not know the man who
brought the drink. But I think they use to call him Chikobi and
Chiefo, if I see him, I can recognise him but I do not know where he
lives."
Sorrow in Woji
Woji and other affected communities have been mourning since the
incident. Now, all shops that trade on locally made gin in the area
have closed down. The people were still in deep shock when we visited
Woji. They were concerned about identifying all those that drank the
deadly gin at the dog meat restaurant.
How death started
Community Development Committee, CDC, chair of Woji community, Chief
(Dr) Brain Ogbonda, who also doubles as the Secretary, Woji Town
Council, said: "On Monday, we received a report that three people have
died in the community after consuming dog meat at a dog meat
restaurant on Mini-Woji Road. Tuesday, the death toll increased to
five, so that Tuesday, the community had Woji Town executive meeting.
"As the CDC chair, I was instructed by the community to follow up the
issue. In course of our investigations, we heard three different
stories, firstly, that somebody from Ogun state came that he is now a
king and the people there crowned him a chief and poured libation that
Sunday.
Monday, death started.
Front view of the dog meat restaurant
"Secondly, we were told that a man came from Ogun state with gin (kai
kai) saying that they made him a chief in his state and all of them
that were in that restaurant ate dog meat and drank the gin, but that
the man himself did not drink.
"Thirdly, that they used the gin in cooking the dog meat and this
sounds unbelievable. On Monday when I was at Mini-Woji, I met one of
our daughters, Otunahia Chioma. She greeted me, that same Monday
night, she started vomiting and then gave up." Chief Ogbonda added,
"Same Monday, I also saw one Umoh from Akwa Ibom state whose wife is a
nurse, he died after awhile. So far, we have recorded 11 deaths.
"Some of the names I have here are Mr. Friday from Akwa Ibom, Miss
Otunahia from Woji, Mr. Jackson Adams (popularly known as Scatter), he
is a carpenter from Akwa Ibom, Mr. Jerry from Omoku in Rivers state,
Umoh from Akwa Ibom and Chief Amadi Odum's gate man also died."
Our worries
He asserted, "Our fear now is that we do not know how many persons ate
and drank the gin. The owner of the restaurant, Mr. Friday Dickson, a
member of Man O War is now at Woji Police Divisional Headquarters. We
are still trying to identify the man from Ogun state who brought the
drink. Nobody has seen the man, we are still investigating."
He disclosed, "Mr. Friday Dickson has been in this business of selling
dog meat in our place for some years now. Those who eat dog meat in
our community patronize him. We are even lucky that most of our youths
who eat dog meat did not go there that Sunday. "One of our daughters
was unlucky to be one of the victims. The relatives of most of the
victims have taken their corpses and probably buried them and some of
them are in the hospital.
"This is the first time this community is experiencing this kind of
ugly situation. We cannot say it is the dog meat, the gin or the
coronation per se, but we want the government to wage into the issue
and find out the real cause of the death. "The gods of our land are
not angry that a stranger is crowned a king in our land because the
coronation they did was just out of joke. We are a developed people
and we do not believe in those fetish things," he stated.
His words: "We cannot go to juju to find out the cause of the strange
deaths because this generation has gone beyond that. Christianity has
taken over; we will only investigate scientifically and come out with
the truth."
Illicit gin smuggled into community
The community leader said, "We suspect that the same gin that killed
people in Ondo state was smuggled into our village. Some of the people
there have confirmed that those who are dying are those that drank the
gin. That gin should be the cause of this death." He added, "And for
the man who brought the drink to refuse to take the drink and
disappeared till now should show that he imported the dangerous drink
into our community. The man is wicked; he does not reside here because
we have tried to know whom he is and where he resides.
"He is a visitor to the restaurant and decided to bewitch the
community. The owner of the restaurant should tell us more about the
man; although it is not every customer that he should know his house."
Police nonchalant until death escalated
Similarly, the secretary of Woji Youth Association, Mr. Daniel
Adolphus, said, "The strange deaths on the streets baffles every one
of us. The story we heard is that some people drank local gin on
Sunday. The people are Ben, Marshal, Jackson, Fabian, Ojiboy, Chika,
Jerry who just died, Otunahia who is from Woji here and Mr. Akpan.
"We as youths, we have tried in our own capacity to see how we can
assist them. We have also announced that anyone who visited the
restaurant last Sunday should declare himself for help. There is one
funny thing that happened, when the number of death was about three, I
called the police to come and assist us, but they said since my
relative is not there, I should forget about the matter. However, when
the death increased to 11, the police came into the issue.
"When they came, they said they have gone to the scene of the incident
that they did not see anybody, I replied them that if they had come
earlier, there would have been remedy to the situation. We call on the
government to send medical teams to conduct some tests so that we can
know what led to this whole thing," he asserted.
…condemns burning of dog meat joint
He said, "Some angry youths from the community have already burnt down
the restaurant, it is condemnable. That is the more reason we needed
the police to arrest the situation. Now there is no gin or the dog
meat from the restaurant to be used as sample."
No sample yet for laboratory test
The Rivers State Centre for Disease Control has confirmed the death of
10 persons in Woji area. Director of the department, Obed Rowland
Whyte, said one of the victims was female.
"We are advising the general public not to panic but should refrain
from drinking locally made gin from unidentified sources pending the
determination of the actual cause of the death. The report we are
getting is that nine people are now dead, including one female and
eight males resulting from the consumption of gin.
"The symptoms presented are similar with that of Ondo state poison,
abdominal pain, vomiting, loss of vision. Already we are tracing a
victim that is still alive. A sample of the drink will be taken for
laboratory test. However, how to get the drink for the test is even a
problem because right now, the community youths have burnt down the
restaurant. "If we can get one of the victims who still have clear
vision, we can get a lead into what happened. We are doing our best to
control the situation," he said.
Local gin, not dog meat caused deaths
Director of Public Health in the Rivers State Ministry of Health,
Nnanna Onyekwere, said preliminary investigation showed locally made
gin caused the deaths and not dog meat as being speculated. He said
the ministry has taken proactive measures to investigate the cause.
"Initially, they said the people ate dog meat, but further
investigations have shown that somebody sold some local drink to them.
It is those that took the drink that are having issues, not those, who
ate the dog meat. Our health team in conjunction with that of the
local government council is already there at Woji going from house to
house of those that died to get more information," he said.
Last Friday, the Rivers State Ministry of Health confirmed the death
of 38 persons in relation to the illicit gin in the state. The
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Somieari Isaac Harry, told
reporters that 38 persons have died in relation to the consumption of
an illicit gin.
He said 10 people died in Woji, Obio/Akpo local govern-ment area, 17
persons in Bonny local government area, 11 in Gokhana local government
area, totaling 38, clarifying that the deaths were not from the
consumption of dog meat. Consequently, Rivers state placed a ban on
the selling and drinking of illicit gin in the state. Dr. Onyekwere
explained that the ban was to stop further death, while a task force
to check offenders with the assistance of security agencies is already
in place.
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