A 19-year-old man, identified as Chukwujekwu Eyah, has reportedly died after being struck by lightning while sleeping at his maternal grandmother’s residence in Ogboli, Ugbaike, Enugu Ezike, Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area of Enugu State.
The incident reportedly occurred around 1 a.m. on Monday while Eyah was sleeping on a bed with four other boys, who were said to have escaped unharmed.
Although the police have yet to issue an official statement on the incident, relatives of the deceased confirmed his death and said he was buried on Wednesday.
A family member said Eyah was asleep when the incident occurred at his maternal grandparents’ residence and that the family had conducted its own inquiries into the circumstances surrounding his death.
The relatives, however, attributed the incident to a traditional belief involving instruments reportedly used by Eyah’s late father, whom they described as a rain-maker.
According to the family, Eyah had allegedly handled the traditional instruments kept at his mother’s residence in Iheaka, Igbo-Eze South Local Government Area, without performing what they described as the required traditional rites.
They claimed that the lightning subsequently struck Eyah while he was sleeping, without harming the four other boys on the same bed or damaging property or animals in the house.
The family said they were informed of the incident around 8 a.m. and subsequently carried out what they described as a traditional investigation through divination.
However, the claims linking the death to traditional practices could not be independently verified.
The circumstances surrounding Eyah’s death remain unclear, and the police have yet to publicly confirm the cause of death or comment on the incident.
