Benue court remands two over murder

A Makurdi Chief Magistrate Court on Wednesday ordered the remand of Terkimbi Mkpen and Terseer Tyovenda, two businessmen accused of killing a yet-to-be-identified lady whose corpse was dumped in a pit.

The defendants, both residents of Gboko, were charged with criminal conspiracy and culpable homicide.

Prosecution counsel Inspector Godwin Ato informed the court that the case was transferred from the B Division Police Station, Gboko, to the State CID, Makurdi, on June 19.

Ato said the letter transferring the matter stated that on June 8, the DPO of B Division Police Station, Gboko, CSP Ajia Babandi, received a call that an unidentified lady was killed and her body dumped in a pit.

The caller also told the DPO that the dead body had matchet cuts on her head and hands, Ato told the court.

The prosecutor alleged that police investigations revealed the defendants were culpable for the death of the deceased.

Ato, who further informed the court that other accomplices are at large, said the offences contravened sections 97 and 222 of the Penal Code Laws of Benue, 2004.

The magistrate, Mrs Roseline Iyorshie, did not take their plea for want of jurisdiction.

Iyorshie ordered that the case file be duplicated and a copy sent to the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for legal advice.

Subsequently, she adjourned the matter until Aug. 22 for further mention.