According to reports, a thunderstorm in Imo State’s Obidi, Agwa, and Oguta Local Government Area has killed three people and injured four more.
When the incident happened on Tuesday, people were running around in a frenzy.
The community was rocked by the incident, and many locals blamed the thunderstorm’s unusual occurrence without a lot of rain on a supernatural or mysterious cause.
A similar tragedy happened at the exact location a few years ago when lightning struck the Zii tree, a prominent landmark in the neighborhood, killing several people. It has been reported that numerous people were buried alive beneath the tree.
Community leaders are calling for spiritual and safety measures to be put in place to prevent such incidents in the future.
“We are calling for spiritual and safety measures to be taken to prevent such incidents in the future,” a community leader who pleaded anonymity, said.
Four people are fighting for their lives in the hospital as a result of the severe effects of the thunderstorm, according to Nze Ike, an elder who confirmed the incident.
He said there was a light rain that accompanied the thunderstorm.
“It was just a little rain in the community on Tuesday, but the impact of the thunderstorm hit three people, and they died instantly. As I speak with you, four people are still in the hospital.
“The thunder struck a heavy tree where people normally took shade and affected almost all the people underneath it taking shade.
“Our community was alleged to have killed the traditional ruler some time back.Some people are scared it may have been a sign of sacrilege because we have not seen anything like this before,” he alleged.
Nze said some parents had called their children to suspend any trip home till the ill wind blows away.
A community leader in Agwa, Collins Ughalla, described that incident as a tragedy.
“We’re still mourning. The last time this occurred was in the 1980s. May the Lord rest their souls,” Ughalla said.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Henry Okoye, has yet to comment on the incident.
