Nigerians react over report of 36 cows killed by strange lightning in Ondo
- Thirty-six cows have been killed in Ondo following a bolt of strange lightning in the state
- The incident occurred on Saturday, September 21, in Oke Owa Ijare community in Ifedore local government area
- Leaders in the community attributed the death of the cows to the trespass of the sacred place by herders
On Saturday, September 21, strange lightning which struck the Oke Owa Ijare community in Ifedore local government area of Ondo state killed 36 cows.
Residents of the community said the cows were struck dead following an alleged desecration of a sacred shrine of an ancient deity by some herders who invaded the area with the animals.
Premium Times reports that the resident also said the incident happened on a rocky elevation held sacred by the community members.
Speaking on the incident, the traditional leader of the community, Olujare of Ijare, Adebamigbe Oluwagbemigun (Kokotiri II), attributed the death of the cows to the trespass of the sacred place by herders.
According to the Olujare, the area where the incident happened is sacred where people are forbidden to go to.
Also speaking, the Sapetu of Ijare, who represented the chiefs of the community, Wemimo Olaniran, said the incident was reported to the community head by some herders.
Olaniran said: "We were there this morning and we saw about 36 cows dead apart from the one inside the bush."
“It has happened and there is nothing we can do about it, we regard it as the act of God which nobody can be queried," Olaniran said.
The community chief said such incident has occurred before although not of same magnitude.
“When you desecrate any part of Ijare, particularly the sacrifice places, the grove, such an incident would happen so we don’t allow any person to go there," he said.
He said the area is usually visited once in a year by the Olujare who would spend the whole day there to perform some traditional rites.
"During the period, no individual is allowed to go there. Five days before this time, we learnt that Fulani men were there carrying wood to build their tents, but to our surprise, 36 cows died immediately when the thunders struck,” Olaniran added.
However, in a reaction to the incident, the Police in Ondo state debunked any spiritual attachment to the death of the cows.
The Ondo state Police command said that the thunderstorm that killed the cows was a natural disaster.
Also, some Nigerians have reacted to the report of the incident.
While some said it is impossible for such to happen, others have also attributed the incident to an act of God.
Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that Bala Mohammed, the governor of Bauchi state have alleged that the crisis between herders and farmer are be caused by some people outside Nigeria.
Mohammed also said that the RUGA settlement initiative of the federal government can address the conflict between the farmers and the herdsmen.
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Source: Legit.ng
