The Ebonyi State Police Command has clarified that the tragic incident which claimed the lives of George and Chioma Onuabuchi in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital, was due to a gas explosion, not an inverter battery as initially speculated.

Chioma, the sister of Nigeria’s Afrobeat sensation, Patoranking, died in August 2024 following the explosion, while her husband succumbed to his injuries in September.

According to the Command’s spokesperson, Joshua Ukandu, a preliminary investigation revealed that the explosion occurred on the waterworks axis in Abakaliki on August 25.

He explained that the couple was rushed to the hospital, but sadly, neither survived.

“It happened on the waterworks axis in Abakaliki on August 25.”

” The residents living around the scene called the attention of our personnel who visited the place but the couple had already been taken to the hospital,” Ukandu said.

“It’s very unfortunate that both finally died.”

” The wife, Chioma, died sometime in August while the husband died this month, September.

We gathered that the wife was a younger sister to the popular Nigerian Afrobeat singer, Patoranking.

There are no much details because the victims could not survive to tell the story.

So, what killed them was gas and not an inverter explosion,” he added.

Fans of Patoranking have expressed their grief and sympathy, reacting to the devastating loss of his family members.

The tragic incident has left many heartbroken, as the details of the explosion continue to unfold.