File: Fulani herdsmen

Some herdsmen on Thursday afternoon were thrown into mourning when about twelve of their cows suddenly died in Lokoja.

The cows were said to be grazing on an open field in the premises of Kogi State Polytechnic at Felele when one after the other, they started falling down and passing on.

Students and workers of the institution were on compulsory holiday as a result of the Covid-19 lockdown when the mysterious incident occurred.

An eyewitness said the clearly troubled and confused herdsmen watched helplessly as the cows were dieing. The cows were eventually evacuated from the institution using luggage tricycles.

Another eyewitness suggested that the deaths may have being triggered by poison possibly resulting from consuming a fumigated grass.

The issue has generated public health concerns in the State capital. A viral social media posting alleged that the dead cows may find their way into the market and warned people to avoid buying beef for now in order not to buy contaminated product.

The Police Public Relation Officer, PPRO, of Kogi state Police Command, CSP William Ayah confirmed the incident. He said the cows were grazing in the open field when they started falling. He disclosed that the the Chief Security Officer of Kogi state Polytechnic quickly drew the attention of the police to the incident.

Ayah said the Seriki of Zango was called and he came to the scene and took custody of the dead cows immediately.