A 19-year-old man, Chukwujekwu Eyah, was reportedly killed by Lightning while sleeping with four other boys at his maternal grandmother’s residence in Enugu State.
The incident occurred at about 1 a.m. on Monday in Ogboli, Ugbaike, Enugu Ezike, in Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area.
Eyah reportedly died in the incident, while the four other boys sleeping on the same bed were unharmed.
The police had yet to comment officially on the matter at the time of reporting. However, relatives of the deceased confirmed his death and said he was buried on Wednesday.
One relative said Eyah was asleep at his maternal grandparents’ residence when the incident occurred.
The relatives attributed the death to a traditional belief involving instruments they said had been used by Eyah’s late father, whom they described as a rain-maker.
They alleged that Eyah had visited the instruments, kept at his mother’s residence in Iheaka in neighbouring Igbo-Eze South Local Government Area, without carrying out what they described as the required traditional rituals.
According to the relatives, the thunder struck Eyah alone without injuring the other boys or damaging property or animals in the house.
They said they received news of his death around 8 a.m. and later conducted what they described as a traditional investigation through divination.
The relatives further alleged that Eyah’s late father had taken the instruments from his wife’s family in Iheaka and that they were not returned after his death.
The circumstances surrounding the teenager’s death could not be independently verified.
