Twenty cattle on Thursday died while grazing at an open field belonging to the Nigeria-Korea Vocational Institute located inside Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja.
The cows were said to have entered into the farm to graze at about 2:11 pm. when suddenly they started falling one after the other.
According to Malam Adamu Suleiman, who sells orange near the area, the herder rushed to call for help but there was nothing anyone could do as they have all died before they got there.
He said they could only assist in evacuating the animals after the authorities were called in to ascertained what happened.
According to him, as at the time of the incident, students were not around due to the closure of the Institute as a result of COVID-19 pandemic.
He said the cattle may have died as a result of poison from the grass, adding that “it’s possible that herbicide was sprayed on the grasses to prevent them from growing that morning”.
When contacted the Police Public Relation Officer to the State Police Command, DSP William Ayah confirmed the incident.
He said the cows were grazing in the open field when they started falling, adding that the Chief Security Officer of the Polytechnic drew the attention of the police to the incident.
CSP Ayah said the police reached out to the Seriki of Zango who took custody of the dead animals.
