Tragedy as Lion kills zoo keeper in Abeokuta

Omobolaji Adekunle

A lion at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, has killed its handler identified as Babaji Daule.

The library is one of the legacies of global statesman, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, a one-time former president of Nigeria.

It was gathered that the victim’s body has been removed and taken to the mortuary at Ijaye General Hospital.

A statement by the Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Omolola Odutola, on Sunday, September 29 explained that 35-year-old Duale was said to have been careless by not securing the locks and barricade the lion’s enclosure before feeding the Lion.

The wild animal was said to have escaped and attacked the victim on the neck which resulted to death.

The statement reads: “A deadly incident involving a wild animal attack has been reported by the Area Commander metro. On September 28, 2024, at about 7:40 hrs the Chief Security Officer of Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library informed the divisional police officer that a 35-year-old man named Babaji Daule from Bauchi State, who is a trained handler of a male lion at the Zoological Garden in OOPL Abeokuta, tragically lost his life.

“It was discovered that the lion handler carelessly neglected to secure the locks and barricade the of lion’s enclosure before approaching the cage to feed the animal.

This negligence allowed the lion to escape and attack the handler, resulting in fatal injuries to the handler’s neck and eventual death.

“The victim’s body was removed and taken to the mortuary at Ijaye General Hospital, while the wild lion was shot to release its grip on the handler.”

Recall in February, a veterinary technologist working at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU)’s Zoo, Ile-Ife, Osun State, Olabode Olawuyi, was also killed by a lion, which was later shot dead.