4 Herders Die, 2 Others Hospitalised After Eating Poisonous Fish In Taraba

The chairman of Takum local government area council in Taraba State, Hon. John Ali, has revealed that four persons from Kashimbila ward of the LGAS have died while two others were hospitalised after eating a meal cooked with suspected poisonous fish.

Ali disclosed this while speaking with LEADERSHIP in the early hours of Wednesday in Jalingo, Taraba State capital.

He said the death of the four herders was alarming, given that two others were still battling for survival in an undisclosed hospital.

Our correspondent gathered the incident happened on February 22, 2025, near a community close to Kashimbila Multi-Purpose Dam.

The Fulani herders, who are identified as Abdul Juli, Sule Abubakar, Adamu Mato, Saidu Payo, Yusuf Musa and Ibrahim Haruna, while grazing with their cows, found an abandoned fish at the bank of Kashimbila River, which they picked and cooked for a meal.

The local government chairman while briefing our correspondent on the incident, disclosed that the victims did not know the difference between an edible and non-edible fish. “As a result of lack of knowledge, they cooked the poisonous fish which resulted to the death of four persons.

“Information available on my table revealed that the Fulanis, while they were grazing their cows, they saw abandoned fish that fishermen separated and left at the river bank. The Fulanis not knowing that the fish is poisonous, they picked the fish, came home and cooked it for a meal.

“We call the specie of the fish as Frog Fish, it’s poisonous, even the other fish in the river don’t go close to them, if their body meet with another fish, the fish get rotten immediately.

“I was also informed that four out of the six that consumed the meal died immediately while two of them are hospitalised and are undergoing treatment as we speak, I will get to the village after this interview to know how is the situation.”

LEADERSHIP gathered that Juli, Abubakar, Mato, and Payo died on the spot after consuming the fish while Yusuf Musa and Ibrahim Haruna are currently receiving treatment in an undisclosed hospital in Takum.