The leadership of the Eternal Sacred Order of the Cherubim and Seraphim Owerri, Imo State has refuted recent media report which insinuated that the seven family members who died after eating Ugba (oil bean) meal died at the Egbelu Nguru in Ngor Okpala LGA, Imo State branch of the church.
In a release signed by the Provincial Chairmen of Owerri and Ngor Okpala, Elder Humphrey O. Awuzie and Ngozi E. Okereke, respectively the church averred that the deceased were members of the church at Nguru branch, but that they never died at the church premises as was widely and wrongly reported.
The church asserted that the only way in which the church was brought into the matter was that two of the victims who ate the suspected poisoned Ugba meal were rushed to the Egbelu Nguru branch of the church by their mother, Mrs. Gladys Nwosu, for prayers.
Mrs. Nwosu, the statement maintained, as a member of the Eternal Sacred Order of the Cherubim and Seraphim had faith in the power of prayers.
Accordingly, the release explained that the church believes in the effectiveness of orthodox medical treatment and as such would have asked those who brought two of the victims to take them to hospital, if they had not died immediately on getting to the church premises.
The released noted that five other members of the Nwosu family, including their mother and widow, Mrs. Nwosu who were not taken to the church died later at the Federal Medical Centre, FMC, Owerri and Ngor Okpala General Hospital where they were rushed to for treatment. The church made it clear that it became necessary to set the record straight based on the way in which some newspapers published the unfortunate incident, adding, “we thought it proper to make the following clarifications for a better understanding of the matter as it affects our church at Ngor Okpala, Imo State”.
The release stated that one Mr. Linus Eke is the village Chairman of Egbelu Nguru who reportedly objected to assist the late Gladys Nwosu to take her children to hospital for immediate and adequate treatment, when he was approached; before she died, a day after. The church expressed misgivings with the undue negative reportage on the church by some section of the media, adding that the police ought to carry out proper investigation on the incident before arresting and detaining two of the elders of the church, who have presently been released on bail.
The church made it clear that the problem was as a result of Ugba meal which the deceased reportedly ate and which was prepared by their mother, Gladys Nwosu herself, for her children and some labourers who worked at her farm.
The labourers who- ate the Ugba meal are all alive till date but the left over of the meal which was eaten later by the Nwosu family members got them vomiting, purging and having stomach ache until they died in progressive sequence at the various hospitals.
The church therefore charged the police to concentrate its investigation at Egbelu Nguru where the unfortunate incident occurred and not at the church.
The leadership therefore called on the Commissioner of Police, Imo State to do a thorough investigation into the case to ensure that any offender(s) are apprehended and innocent persons not made to suffer.
