The Makurdi cannibal

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A magistrate’s court in Makurdi, Benue State, recently remanded one Jeremiah Ode, 45, in the custody of the Federal Correctional Centre in the state following his arrest by men of the Benue State Police Command. Ode was arrested for the gruesome killing of 65-year-old Priscilla Adoga, his uncle’s wife who was working on her farm in Oju local government area of the state. The police prosecuting officer, Inspector Omaye Ujata, told the court that the incident, which occurred on Friday, August 19, was reported by one Silas Igiri. According to Igiri, the accused went to the farm where the victim was working and killed her with a machete during a scuffle. After severing her head, he proceeded to prepare the local delicacy called pepper soup with it and was eating the horrendous meal when he was apprehended. The ugly incident was discovered when the late Priscilla failed to return from the farm at the normal time, forcing her relatives to organise a search party for her.

Of the many gory occurrences happening in the country, this certainly is one of the most horrific in detail. Asked why he carried out the heinous crime, Ode told the police that he actually intended to consume the rest of Priscilla’s body later. He admitted fighting the victim with a machete until he overpowered her. Although he had a reputation for being mentally unstable, Ode had not been associated with any violent act prior to this bizarre incident. And his calm demeanor reportedly swayed the police into believing that his narration was too normal to come from a deranged mind. They therefore charged him to the court. As a matter of fact, when he was arraigned in court, Ode reportedly pleaded guilty and did not show any remorse for his action.

If this story illustrates anything, it is the fact that there are so many people battling mental health issues in this country and who need to be urgently attended to before they perpetrate acts that would put the fact of their mental instability in bold relief. There are many people who fall into the category that the Yoruba refer to as fully-clothed mentally challenged persons (were alaso), people who suffer from mental challenges even if their outward appearance presents a strikingly different picture. The government therefore has to take issues of mental health much more seriously. In the instant case, there is certainly ample reasons to believe that Jeremiah Ode was not in control of his senses. Just how could a sane person murder an innocent woman on her farm, then use her head to prepare pepper soup for his consumption before being apprehended for the gory behaviour?

Which normal human being would not feel bothered by the act of killing another human being in cold blood, and not in a war setting, and then proceeding to eat the remains of the victim? It is significant that Ode was reported to have owned up to the act without feeling any remorse in the court of law. He willingly added the information that he was set to eat all the remains of the woman over time if not for his arrest, without offering any insight into why he descended into such a gory, cannibalistic act. The truth is that many Nigerians are descending into and suffering from complicated mental health issues amidst the deteriorating living conditions in the country, with the society and the government having a very dismissive and nonchallant attitude to such health issues.

We reckon that Mr. Ode requires medical and psychiatric evaluation in order to get to grips with his condition, and not just the process of prosecuting him. That would also give an insight into such other behaviours across the country and help to stir governments at all levels and the society into preventive action in order to forestall a repeat of this dastardly and gory behaviour. We do not, of course, suggest that if proven to be of sound mind, Ode should not be punished for the horrific murder of Priscilla Adoga. Our position is that his story calls for mental evaluation and that issues of mental health need to be placed in the front burner and addressed comprehensively. Happily, the report of the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP), to which the case was referred as the matter was adjourned till November 11, will show the way forward in the instant case.

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