It was a sorry sight yesterday, Friday, December 2, 2022, as a chartered accountant, his wife, two children and two relatives were found dead in their residence located in Mowe, an Ogun community near Lagos.

The family head, Mr Adeleke John Samuel, was aged 55, the wife, Pamela, was aged 50, while the children were between 13 and 19 years old, according to The Eagle online daily, which broke the news of the tragedy.

“The source of death is suspected food poisoning after wall gecko had allegedly walked on food,” the paper said.

It quoted a neighbour as disclosing that the family was believed to have died after eating food trampled upon by wall gecko.

“The sad event was uncovered when their gateman, Mr Lawal Ojo, suspected the unusual quietness in the house at full break of day.

“He alerted the neighbours who broke into the house only to discover the bodies of the victims in different rooms

“They were all in the sleeping posture, the source said, indicating that they probably passed on in their sleep,” the report said.

It quoted an eyewitness, Mrs Ifenatuora Ijeoma, as saying that the poison might have been ingested in the course of the family’s dinner on Thursday night.

“She reiterated that, on close inspection of the kitchen utensils, a dead wall gecko was discovered inside a pot of soup by one of the neighbours,” The Eagle reported.

It quoted a medical practitioner simply identified as Dr Omotosho, a biologist, as saying: “Geckos are ordinarily harmless. However, the lizard carries lots of bacteria in the mouth which can cause serious harm when ingested by humans.”

The report disclosed that the police had waded into the matter with a view to unraveling what really killed the family.

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