A 70-year-old grandmother, her son and two other family members in the Eruda community, Ilorin in Ilorin West Local Government Area of the state have been reported dead after eating an Amala meal said to have been poisoned.

Following the incident, BEYOND AFRICA gathered that the Kwara State Government has placed the Healthcare on Outbreak Response Mode after confirmation of their death.

The state Commissioner of Health, Dr Amina El-Imam, said the victims’ death was from the consumption of Amala believed to contain poison.

El-Imam, at a press conference addressed in Ilorin, the state capital, on Tuesday, also disclosed that one death was recorded from gastroenteritis.

According to her, the entire health team of the ministry visited the community after the report of a family who lost a number of their relatives, after consumption of Lafun-Amala made from cassava flour.

“On getting there, the claim was that there was an instance of food poisoning where the 70-year-old woman fell ill and died after consuming Amala.

“Unfortunately, her son and grandchildren also consumed the same food, fell ill and died. They were taken to the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital where they passed away,” she said.

El-Imam stated that the Amala made from Lafun could have been responsible for the death, explaining that the people who consumed the yam flour without Lafun were fine.

As she put it, “Those who consumed the mixture of both Lafun and Amala mixture fell ill and eventually, some of them died.”