government area of Benue State. The new President of Igede National Youths Council, AndysonEgbodo, who announced this to newsmen in Makurdi, gavethe names of the deceased as: Happiness Ogbu, Onah Ogbedu, AndyEdu and Wisdom Agwo. He added that all victims developed the samesymptoms of headache, internal heat, diarrhoea, vomiting, stomachache, weakness of the body and swollen stomach. Egbodo said that the health authorities in Oju localgovernment area had been briefed on the development. Heconfirmed that the State government had dispatched a medical team tohandle the alleged epidemic. The State’s Commissioner for Health and HumanServices, Sunday Ongbabo also confirmedthe development, saying the ministry had already dispatched a team of doctors to the affected area to ascertain the nature of the disease.