By Yemi Itodo A 45-year-old man from Benue State has been arraigned at a Makurdi Magistrate Court for cannibalism. Jeremiah Od...
By Yemi Itodo
A 45-year-old man from Benue State has been arraigned at a
Makurdi Magistrate Court for cannibalism.
Jeremiah Ode, from Igwe Ochekpo in Oju Local Government
Area, who was caught eating the head of a woman he allegedly killed on her
farm, is being prosecuted at a Makurdi Magistrate Court, for the gruesome
murder of Priscilla Adoga, 65.
Inspector Omaye Ujata, the Prosecuting Police Officer, told
the court that the incident which occurred on Friday, August 19, was reported
to the police by Silas Igiri of Oju Local Government Area.
According to Igiri’s report, the accused went to the farm
where his uncle’s wife, Priscilla, was working and killed her using a machete.
After severing Priscilla’s head, he prepared pepper soup
with it right there on the spot and was eating it when he was caught.
Sources in the community told newsmen that, when Priscilla
did not return from the farm at the normal time, her relatives went in search
of her, only to find Jeremiah, known in the community to be mentally deranged,
having a meal of the woman’s head.
When asked why he did that, Jeremiah reportedly said he only
started with the head after which he would proceed to her body.
When asked by the Police to give his account of the
incident, Jeremiah reportedly narrated how he and Priscilla fought each other
with their machetes until he overpowered her.
A Benue blog, Stateflash posited that “the police considered
the narration too normal to be that of a mad man and, therefore, decided to
prosecute him.
“Although the Prosecutor told the court that the accused has
confessed to committing the crime, no plea was taken, for want of
jurisdiction”.
The Chief Magistrate, Mrs. Regina Alagh, therefore, ordered
that the accused be remanded at the Federal Correctional Centre, Makurdi.
Although the court declined jurisdiction to hear the case,
the accused pleaded guilty of the charge, when the case was mentioned.
The case has been adjourned to November 11, for legal advice
from the State Ministry of Justice.
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