( dpa ) - Four people died on Thursday in a village in Cross River State, south-east Nigeria, after eating apparently poisoned nuts.
Two hundred others were hospitalised in Bekwarra village, the council chairman, Ochislego Idagbo, said. He said a three-year-old child was among the dead.
Idagbo said that all the casualties ate "poisoned banbara nuts." He said the nuts - a delicacy in the state - were brought from neighbouring Benue State.
The chairman said that hospital authorities in the council area had reported that some of the victims were still in a critical state.
Idagbo alleged that the nuts must have been treated with a poisonous preservative.