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Mysterious Yam Flour meal ‘Amala’ kills 5 in Lagos

Posted by 9jabook.com on August 29, 2009 at 4:30am
Not fewer than 5 people were feared dead in Owode-Langbasa Aja area of Lagos State, after eating yam flower popularly known as Amala, in anticipation to begin their Ramadan fast in the early hours of Friday. we gathered that one of the victims after consuming the toxic amala died on the spot while others gave up the ghost on the way when good Samaritans were trying to take them to the hospital for revival. Over 20 others were rushed to different hospitals, while some were placed on danger list at Akodo general hospital of Lagos State. Family members, friends and sympathizers waiting endlessly outside the hospitals, while medical experts are still trying to safe the lives of those victims who are still alive. The black Friday had about 25 Muslim faithful who gathered at the residence of a prominent Islamic philanthropist in Aja at the early hours of Friday for Ramadan prayers, which has often been the practice for 5 years. But little do they know that untimely death would take its wrath on them after eating the amala meal. Some of the surviving victims who are still groaning in pains in the hospitals shared their ordeal. ‘‘Immediately some us ate that food we went back to sleep and all of a sudden I saw others groaning in pain someone even died instantly, then I began to feel uncomfortable, I quickly drank palm oil and I dipped my hand in my throat and I threw up, and here I am now still battling with survival, the pain is too much.’’ Also, the woman that prepared the food who was also a victim of this food poison lying at the hospital bed, said she bought the flour at Mushin market in Lagos and that she could not understand what actually went wrong. Although the people in the area have denied any foul play over these ugly and unprecedented misfortunes. The hospitals key medical personnel Dr Tunde Palomeras and Dr Imosimi Donald confirmed that it was a case of food poison and that they will deploy all necessary resources and expertise to ensure that no further lost of life is recorded. One will recall that a bizarre Poisonous killer beans in 1996 was reported in Lagos, when vendors claimed the reports carried in the press, are a plot to reduce the price of the commodity, which is the main source of protein for poor Nigerians. But most people in the three south-western states of Lagos, Ogun and Oyo stopped the consumption of beans that time. Amala is one of Nigeria’s staple food and it’s a cherished delicacy among Africans and other parts of the world, especially when it goes with the right soup, but with this latest unfolding pattern where it now mysteriously claims lives, no one knows how safe the next meal of amala could possibly be, only God can tell.
Tags: 5, Flower, Lagos, Mysterious, Yam, in, kills, meal, ‘Amala’
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