FIJ
A lion at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library in Abeokuta, Ogun State, killed Babaji Daule, a 35-year-old zoo worker, on Saturday.
Omolola Odutola, the Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), confirmed on Sunday morning to pressmen that the Bauchi State-born indigene died after forgetting to secure the locks and barricade the lion’s enclosure before approaching the cage to feed the animal.
According to the Guardian, the lion took advantage of the deceased’s carelessness and attacked him. It inflicted serious injuries to the man’s neck, which led to his death. The lion was shot during the act to free the man.
His remains, according to the paper, have been taken to the mortuary at Ijaye General Hospital.
This is the second time in 2024 a lion has killed its carer in Nigeria. In February, a lion mauled a staffer at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU).
Abdul Mahmud, a lawyer, was one of those who raised concerns about the repetition of the same accident.
“With the news of the mauling of the zoo-keeper at the OBJ presidential library, Abeokuta, yesterday; and the occurrence of a similar incident at the OAU zoo early in the year, questions need to be asked about the regulation and management of zoos in Nigeria,” Mahmud wrote on X on Sunday.
FIJ called Omolola Odutola, the Ogun State PPRO, for more comments on the matter, but she did not respond at press time.
Numbers on the library’s website were also unreachable.
THIS STORY FIRST APPEARED IN FIJ