Over 165 persons have reportedly died and buried in different graveyards in Postiskum and Gashua towns in Postiskum Local Government of Yobe State.
An indigene of Postiskum town, who spoke to DAILY POST on condition of anonymity, said although people are dying in their numbers in different towns of the state but these two towns are the most hit.
He said that Postiskum town has recorded 111 deaths while Gashua has over 45 cases.
According to him, these towns share borders with Kano and Jigawa States where such mysterious deaths have been reported recently.
The source added that the deceased were mostly elderly people.
It is unclear if the deaths had anything to do with COVID-19.
The source said, “I can tell you that about 165 persons have died within the space of six days in two towns of Postiskum and Gashua in Postiskum Local Government.
“There are deaths in other areas but specifically in Postiskum town where I reside, we have recorded 111 deaths within the period of six days and in Gashua, we have recorded over 50 deaths.
“There is Nguru town, which is one of the major towns in Yobe State and they said within six days, they have recorded over seven deaths.
“You know all these towns I mentioned, they share boundaries with Kano and Jigawa and you know they already have COVID-19 cases. So, I think the deaths may not be unconnected to the virus.
“There may be community transmission going on and the committee has not investigated the deaths to know if they connected to the coronavirus or not.
“There are similarities between the deaths we are seeing here and those who had died of COVID-19. All in all, within Postiskum only have 111 died.
Speaking to DAILY POST on the matter, the Commissioner for Health, Mohammed Lawan Gana, who is also the Vice-Chairman of the Committee on COVID-19, did not deny the development but said that investigations were ongoing to determine its veracity and the cause.
“You see, usually people can peddle rumours but in our own case whether it is rumour or alert, we send people to investigate and get assessment.
“And of course when we examine the assessment, we now escalate the news. What is going on now is assessment,” he said.