Local healer's spouse douses rival wife with scalding liquid

A dramatic incident unfolded in Wodah village, Yala Local Government Area of Northern Cross River State, on Saturday, when Blessing, the wife of a herbalist known as Dr. Respect Ogar, allegedly poured hot water on her husband's second wife, Mary, leaving her with severe burns on her chest and stomach.

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The incident occurred on Saturday morning, according to a village source, who revealed that the first wife had become angry after her husband paid the bride price and conducted traditional marriage rites for the second wife, while she had not undergone the same formalities despite being married to him for many years and bearing five male children.

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A source, Ochuole, explained that Mary's persistent taunting of Blessing, who had not had her bride price paid or undergone formal traditional rites, allegedly angered the first wife, who eventually snapped and poured boiling water on her co-wife.

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It was reported that Mary often boasted about her husband buying her a plot of land and renting an apartment for her in town, while Blessing had nothing, further fueling the tension between the two women.

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Mary is currently receiving treatment at the Ogoja General Hospital and is expected to be transferred to the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar, with arrangements having been made to move her on Monday.

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Initially, Mary was taken to Life First Clinic in Abachor, before being transferred to the Ogoja General Hospital, and now plans are underway to move her to the Teaching Hospital in Calabar for further treatment.

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Blessing was arrested and taken to the Okuku Police Station, but following threats by Mary's family to retaliate, she was later transferred to the Divisional Police Station in Okpoma for her safety and further investigation.

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In a separate incident, a commercial motorcycle rider sustained severe injuries on Sunday, following an alleged collision involving officers of the Nigeria Customs Service, Seme Border Command, along Joseph Dosu Way in Badagry, Lagos State.

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The incident occurred around 6:30 a.m. near Beach Town Mall, while the rider was conveying six bags of rice from Badagry Market to Badagry Roundabout, and eyewitnesses claimed that the patrol vehicle drove directly towards the motorcycle, resulting in a collision.

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Residents alleged that the Customs officers seized the bags of rice and left the scene without attending to the injured man, who was thrown into a roadside gutter and left critically injured.

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A witness, identified simply as Kikekon, explained that the motorcycle rider was carrying six bags of rice when the Customs officers attempted to intercept him, resulting in a collision that left him battling for his life.

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When contacted, the Seme Border Command Customs Public Relations Officer, Superintendent of Customs (SC) Ayagbalo Tunde, did not issue an official statement, responding via text that he was in church.

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Kabiru Sokoto, a convicted Boko Haram bomber, has appealed his terrorism conviction by the Federal High Court in Abuja, filing an application dated May 13, 2026, before the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal.

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Sokoto was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment on December 20, 2013, over the Christmas Day bombing of St. Theresa Catholic Church in Madalla, Niger State, which killed at least 37 people and injured 57 others.

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It was reported that Sokoto had allegedly been planning to kidnap the children of Kashim Shettima, then governor of Borno State, when he was arrested in January 2012, and he was initially arrested at the Borno State Governor’s Lodge in Asokoro, Abuja, before escaping from police custody.

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Sokoto was later re-arrested a month later in Taraba State, and in the motion on notice, his counsel prayed the Court of Appeal for leave to file his notice of appeal out of time and for the notice already filed to be deemed properly filed and served.

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The convict told the court that the delay in filing the appeal was caused by his prolonged incarceration, repeated transfers across different custodial facilities, and the deaths of two lawyers previously handling the case, making access to counsel extremely difficult.