Posted by By MATTHEW DIKE on
A customs officer and his wife, in the Ajegunle area of Lagos, have been gassed to death by a generator placed outside their bedroom.
A customs officer and his wife, in the Ajegunle area of Lagos, have been gassed to death by a generator placed outside their bedroom.
Mr. Benedict Ibe and wife, Catherine, were hale and hearty on Saturday, February 4, when they went to bed not knowing that they were going on eternal rest.
When it was time for church the next day and they didn't come out of their room, a family member, identified as Felix, raised alarm after knocking at the door in vain.
Policemen from Tolu division were informed and they rushed to the place and broke into the rooms through the window to find Mrs. Ibe dead on the floor and her husband on the bed.
Another female family member found unconscious was rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment and she survived it.
The customs officer, described as a born-again Christian, was attached to Seme-border command, while his wife was running a canteen named 'Lord Leads Canteen" in-front of their residence on Bale street at New Road bus-stop where they died.
The Ibes, from Mbieri in Mbaitolu Local Government Area of Imo State, were living in a three-bedroom apartment. While the couple were in the bedroom, the other woman slept in the parlour and a man called Felix, a member of the family also slept in the third room separated from the rest.
Doctor's report identified the primary cause of death as asphyxia while the secondary cause was linked to carbon monoxide poison from the exhaust fumes of a generator.
The window had a crack but it was as if the exhaust pipe was intentionally directed to a point where there was a larger hole in the window which allowed more fumes into the rooms.
The couple left behind a male child who is a student of Enugu State University of Technology (ESUT).
Police investigating the death have sealed off all the rooms. They told other members of Ibe family that the rooms would remain sealed until investigations are completed.
The victim's family members refused to speak with Daily Sun on the issue.