text: Cholera kills 21 in southern Nigeria . LAGOS 1996-05-28 An outbreak of cholera has killed 21 people in a week at Ubimini in oil-rich southern Nigeria , the News Agency of Nigeria reported on Saturday . The chairman of the local council , Damian Ejiohuo , said drugs had been rushed to the area to quell the disease and the community needed a safer source of drinking water to prevent future outbreaks . Epidemics are common in rural areas of Nigeria where piped water is not usually available .