Five members of the same family have been found dead inside their residence at Umuimo village, Osisioma Local Government Area of Abia State, four days after they were last seen.
The cause of their deaths has not been determined.
Neighbours became concerned after the family members were not seen in the community since Saturday. Their concerns led to a search effort, during which they broke into the family’s apartment on Tuesday and discovered the bodies.
The remains were found in a decomposed state inside the sitting room, according to sources familiar with the incident.
Early visitors to the scene said the arrangement of the bodies suggested that the family might have been eating before the incident occurred. This raised suspicions that they may have died from food poisoning or inhalation of fumes from a generator.
Sources said cooked chicken and groundnuts that had not been consumed were found in the room where the bodies were discovered.
The bodies were later removed from the residence and taken to a morgue after community members carried out traditional rites.
The Abia State Police Command confirmed the incident, saying officers from the Osisioma Divisional Police Headquarters visited the scene after receiving a report from a relative of one of the victims.
Police spokesperson, Maureen Chinaka, said the relative reported that efforts to reach Kachi Nnabugwu, one of the deceased, had failed before family members went to his residence.
According to her, repeated knocks at the house received no response, forcing the relatives to gain entry, where they found the decomposing bodies of Nnabugwu and his family members.
“The crime scene has been visited. A preliminary visual inspection of the bodies was conducted, and photographs taken,” Chinaka said.
She added that the bodies had been deposited at the morgue for preservation and autopsy, while investigations into the incident were ongoing.
