Four children aged 3 to 12 died in Amufu community, Okpokwu LGA, Benue State, days after drinking a soft drink allegedly given to them by their uncle, who denies knowledge of what happened.
Okpokwu, Benue State — August 27, 2026
Tragedy has struck Amufu community in Edumoga, Okpokwu Local Government Area of Benue State, after four siblings, aged 12, seven, five, and three, died last week following an illness that reportedly began days after they consumed a soft drink given to them by a relative.
The deaths were brought to public attention by Idoma activist Meddy Olotu, who shared a lengthy video on Facebook featuring the children's grieving father recounting the events leading up to their deaths.
According to the father, the children received the drink from a relative identified as Anthony Adam, who was said to have been passing through with the bottle at a time when the father was not home and was reportedly not on speaking terms with Adam.
Two to three days after consuming the drink, all four children fell ill in succession. The father described rushing the first child to hospital, only to find a second child sick upon his return; the first child later died and was brought home, before the remaining two fell ill as well. By 7 a.m. the following day, three of the children had died, and by noon, the family lost the fourth. "I'm still alive today because I was not allowed to kill myself," the father said in the video.
According to the father's account, Adam and his son have denied any knowledge of the circumstances surrounding the children's illness and deaths. A separate video circulating online shows Adam being apprehended by community youths following the incident.
As of this report, efforts to obtain comment from the Benue State Police Command on the case were unsuccessful, and no official cause of death, toxicology findings, or formal charges have been publicly confirmed.
The circumstances remain based on the family's account and community reaction captured on video, pending any official police investigation or medical determination of what caused the children's deaths.
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