2 women arraigned over obituary publication

Police in Benue State, yesterday, arraigned two women, Martha Tina and Victoria Agber, in a Makurdi Magistrate’s Court for allegedly publishing a false obituary of one Patricia Paul.

The women were charged with criminal conspiracy, intimidation, defamation of character and causing public disturbance.

The prosecutor, Inspector Gabriel Ebonyi, told the court that the victim reported to the state Commissioner of Police in July when she noticed that her passport photographs were missing.

She said some weeks after, she started seeing her obituary posters on walls and trees all over Makurdi and in her school at Benue State Polytechnic, Ugbokolo.

Ebonyi said investigation into the matter was still in progress and urged the court for an adjournment.

The magistrate, Mr. Cyril Enyi, granted bail to the accused in the sum of N50,000 each and a reasonable surety each in like sum and adjourned the case till September 9 for hearing.