At least 36 cows were struck to deadth in Ondo state.
Okay.ng gathered that the incident happened on Saturday at Oke Owa in Ijare community, Ifedore local government area of the state.
According to reports, the cows were killed by lightning shortly after they strayed to a mountain where the monarch of the town makes sacrifices on an annual basis.
The monarch of the town, the Olujare of Ijare, Oba Adebamigbe, through one of his chiefs, said the herdsmen have been destroying their farmlands for a while and the lightening incident is an act of God.
He 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, we regards it as the act of God which nobody can query.
“There had been occasions like that but not as massive we are having it now, to some individuals who desecrated the land. In the past we did witnessed thunderbolt attack, when you desecrated any part of Ijare particularly the sacred places.
Some of the affected cows
“The dead cows will be there forever; it is part of the history in our land for people to see as testimony in future that such a thing happens, a whole Oba buried there live and heaven did not fall talk less of ordinary cows.
“Oke-Owa is a sacred hill where the Oba and some of his chiefs visited once a year during new yam festival to offer sacrifices on behalf of the community. Even those chiefs accompanying the Oba must not go to the inner part of the hill because there is a particular place where only the Oba have to enter and spend a night.
“This is a hill that the herdsmen wanted to desecrate with their herds. It is a taboo. When we heard about the incident, we invited the herdsmen and they confirmed that it was lightning that struck the cows.
“We went to the police station to report the matter and the Divisional Police Officer was contacted before chiefs including myself went there.
“Those cows would remain there and rotten because nobody must touch them otherwise there would be problem.”
