Published 29th Sep, 2024

By Emmanuel Uti

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.

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3 replies on “Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library Staff Killed by Zoo Lion”

A Lion handler has to be very careful having their state of mind intact and not distracted. A lion will not change it’s nature. I pray the Lord console the family of the bereaved and good money paid to the deceased family as aid and consolation.

A Lion handler has to be very careful having their state of mind intact and not distracted. A lion will not change it’s nature. I pray the Lord console the bereaved family and good money paid to them
as aid and consolation.

May the Lord comfort and console the family friends and the relatives of the man. The lion would have been shot in such a way for it to die slowly in pains. Very unfortunate.