Lion kills 35-year-old handler at Obasanjo library’s zoo
Posted by Ahmed Iyanda | a month ago | 187 times
The Ogun State Police Command on Sunday confirmed that a 35-year-old zoo worker at Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library(OOPL) Wildlife park, Abeokuta, Babaji Daule, was killed by a lion.
The spokesman for the state police command, Omolola Odutola, disclosed this in a statement sent to journalists on Sunday.
The Bauch State born lion handler was said to have forgotten to secure the locks and barricade the lion’s enclosure before approaching the cage to feed the animal.
The incident which happened on Saturday , was reported at about 7:40am by the Chief Security Officer of the OOPL, said to have occurred when the trained handler of the male lion at the Zoological Garden “carelessly neglected to secure the locks and barricade of the lion’s enclosure before approaching the cage to feed the animal.
“This negligence allowed the lion to escape and attack him, resulting in fatal injuries to the handler’s neck and eventual death.
“The victim’s body was removed and taken to the mortuary at the State Hospital, Ijaye, Abeokuta, while the wild lion was shot to release its grip on the handler.”
Odutola said, “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 by the Chief Security Officer of Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, who 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”.
