A Makurdi Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday ordered that a man, Utim Ukerchia, be remanded in prison custody over allegations that he poisoned food which killed two children in Daudu, Guma Local Government Area. Ukerchia appeared in court facing charges of culpable homicide and acts of terrorism.  However, the Magistrate, Mrs N.E. Kaka’an, said the court could not take his plea because it does not have the power to handle the case. She ordered police to send the case file to the Director of Public Prosecutions for advice and set October 2 for the next hearing. The prosecutor, Insp. Godwin Ato, told the court that investigations were still ongoing and asked for an adjournment. According to police, the incident happened on May 13. Ukerchia allegedly put poison in garri and gave it to a 4-year-old girl. The girl ate it together with her brothers, sisters and six other children. In all, nine children ate the food. Hours later, the children became sick and were taken to hospital. Sadly, ...

A yet-to-be-identified young man was killed on Wednesday afternoon when a speeding truck hit him on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway around OPIC, Ogun State. The driver sped off right after. The incident occurred a few minutes before 1pm. According to those who saw it, the man was trying to cross to the other side of the road from the Lagos-bound lane, near the OPIC bus stop. Witnesses said the truck was moving very fast. It rammed into the man, ran over him, and disappeared from the scene. The force threw parts of his body across the expressway, making drivers slow down and drive carefully around the area. “I watched him cross the road when the truck hit him,” said Nojeem, who was at the scene. Nojeem said he was tired of seeing people die on that stretch. He urged the government to build a pedestrian bridge there to protect commuters. “We keep losing people here. This road needs a bridge so people can cross safely,” he said. When our reporter got to the location around 2pm, the body was ...