Thunder strikes, kills 36 cows on sacred grove

By Tola Gbadamosi
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No fewer than 36 cows were reportedly struck dead late Saturday by thunder on top of a sacred grove at Ijare town in Ifedore Local Government Area of Ondo State.

The grove known as ‘Oke Owa’ is located on the outskirt of the agrarian community.

It was gathered that only the king of the town and some virgins are allowed to visit the grove once in a year during the celebration of the new yam festival to perform some rituals.

A native of the town, whose house on the way to the grove, told The Hope that the repeated loud crack of thunder that accompanied the evening rain made them to suspect that something unusual had happened.

The resident said nobody knew that the thunder had actually caused havoc until a hunter came in the morning that during his hunting expedition, he saw some dead cows on the grove.

The report of the hunter made the traditional ruler of the town, the Olujare of Ijare, Oba Adegbamigbe Oluwagbenigun to delegate chiefs to make a fact finding report to the police and to also go to the scene to assess what had happened.

The incident immediately turned the hill to a tourist centre for the people of the community as they, especially youths trooped there to catch a glimpse of what happened.

When The Hope got to the grove, there were 36 dead cows lying on the ground without any mark on their bodies.

There were also indication that herdsmen were trying to settle on top of the hill as there was a shed under construction with tubers of yam and pepper on the ground.

Speaking with journalists, the Olujare of Ijare, who spoke through his second in command, Chief Wemimo Olaniran, the Sapetu of Ijare, described the act as an act of God.

The Sapetu said the herdsmen had constituted a menace to the community by destroying their farmland which had led to confrontation on many occasions.

The high chief said it was surprising to them when they heard five days ago that some Fulanis were ascending the sacred hill to settle after they had destroyed many farmlands and created fears in the minds of the people.

“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 regard it as the act of God which nobody can query.

“There had been occasions like that, but not as massive as we are having now, to some individuals who desecrated the land. In the past, we did witness thunder attack, when you desecrated any part of Ijare particularly the sacred places like the grove.

“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 had happened, an Oba was once buried there alive and heaven did not fall let alone ordinary cows.

“Oke Owa is a sacred hill where the Oba and some of his chiefs visit 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 can enter and spend a night.

“This is the 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 thunder 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.”

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) for Ondo State Command, Mr. Femi Joseph confirmed that the matter was reported at Ijare Police Station and described the incident as a natural disaster and unfortunate.