Four members of a family including the mother and three children have allegedly died after eating rice in Ilọrin, the Kwara State capital.

The incident happened in the Oshin area along Asa Dam road on Saturday.

All the victims have been buried according to Islamic rites in what has been described as a suspected food poisoning.

It was gathered that the deceased children are Abibat, Zainab and Abdulfatai said to be around 9, 7 and 5 years old respectively.

According to a source, the family prepared rice for breakfast before the parents left the house on Saturday morning.

“In the evening, when they returned, the mother was making preparation for dinner and instructed that the eldest daughter who was sleeping should be woken up when they noticed she was cold and gnashing her teeth.

“She was rushed to Oreofe Hospital where they were referred to Ilọrin General Hospital and then University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) where she was pronounced dead.

“However, they met the two other children exhibiting the same symptoms when they brought their sister’s corpse and rushed them to UITH.

“On Sunday, their mother also started vomiting and was rushed to UITH where the three of them died in the wee hours of Monday. Their father has now been admitted also for test having eaten from the rice meal,” the source said.

A visit to the house of the family’s patriarch, Alhaji Jagunmolu Adinni, on Monday night, revealed sympathisers were still trooping in to console the family over the incident.

Speaking on the incident, Alhaji Jagunmolu Adinni said though the incident was tragic, he had accepted it as a trial from Almighty Allah.

“The father is still in the hospital left with only a son, Muhammad Basheer,” he added. (Daily Trust)