Confusion has enveloped Akutara village in Adani community of Uzo-Uwani local government area of Enugu State following the mysterious death of a groom and six wedding guests in the community.
The State Police Command has confirmed the development, saying a full scale investigation has be ordered into the incident.
Sources disclosed that eight other people including the bride were also receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital in the community.
It was gathered that the victims had returned from a traditional wedding ceremony at Obollo-Eke in Udenu local government area of the State and were discovered dead the next day.
Sources added that the deceased and others may have been victims of inhaled carbon dioxide from a power generating set, which was brought to the veranda of a house where the victims passed the night on return from the wedding ceremony.
The source said the actual cause of the deaths will be ascertained when autopsy is conducted on the dead bodies.
When contacted, the spokesperson for the Enugu State Police Command, Daniel Ndukwe, confirmed the development.
“Followinghe receipt of a report alleging the sudden and unnatural death (SUD) of six (6) persons and the hospitalization of eight (8) others, at Akutara Village in Adani Community of Uzo-Uwani LGA, on 27/08/2022 at about 0930hrs, the Commissioner of Police, Enugu State Command, CP Ahmed Ammani, fdc, has ordered the State CID Enugu to launch a full-scale investigation to unravel the circumstances surrounding the death and hospitalization of the victims.
“He commiserates with the families and friends of the deceased, while calling on residents of the community to maintain peace and support the Police with necessary information in the investigation.
“Meanwhile preliminary investigation reveals that one of the confirmed deceased victims, Obinna Dike aged 31, attended his own traditional marriage ceremony at Obollor-Eke in Udenu LGA on 26/08/2022, with his relatives and other victims of the incident. They thereafter went back home and continued with the celebration.
“However, the following morning, none of them came out of the room where they slept, causing the door to be forced opened, with all of them in the room found to be unconscious with foamy discharge from their mouths. They were immediately moved to the hospital, where six (6) of them were confirmed dead and deposited in the mortuary for preservation and autopsy, while the others are responding to treatment.
“Further development will be communicated, please,” the PPRO stated.