GIST: Family 6 Dies of Food Poisoning by Wall Gecko in Ogun

BY: News Peddlers 

A family of six died after consuming food that had been trampled by a wall gecko in the Mowe community of Obafemi Owode LGA, Ogun state.

According to TheEagle Online, the victims were identified as Adeleke John Samuel, a chartered accountant, his wife, Pamela Adeleke, their two children, and two other relatives, who were discovered dead in the early hours of Friday.

According to the report, the tragic event was discovered when Lawal Ojo, their gateman, noticed the unusual quietness in the house at full dawn.

"He alerted the neighbours, who broke into the house only to discover the bodies of the victims in various rooms," according to the report.

"They were all in the sleeping posture," the source said, implying that they died while sleeping.

According to the report, Ifenatuora Ijeoma, an eyewitness, believes the poison was consumed during the family's dinner the night before.

One of the neighbours discovered a dead wall gecko inside a pot of soup after closely inspecting the kitchen utensils.

A 2019 fact check by Africa Check revealed that wall geckos are not poisonous or lethal. Wall geckos carry a lot of bacteria, according to experts, but "one would not automatically die just because it fell into the food one is eating."

According to the Animal Diversity Web, a database maintained by the University of Michigan in the United States, "geckos are non-venomous and harmless to humans."