According to a report from the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the Provost of the College of Arabic and Islamic Legal Studies (CAILS) in Ilorin, Sa’ad Hadi, has refuted any association with the death of 33 cows that occurred on Saturday.

Mr. Hadi clarified to NAN that the institution had no knowledge or involvement in the cows' predicament, as they did not consume anything within the college premises.

”They did not eat anything on our premises, and we know nothing about what happened to them,” he said.

The 33 cows were suspected to have been poisoned, leading to their demise, with their carcasses later distributed to butchers for sale. The incident took place along Atere Road, Al-Hikma University campus, at the boundary of CAILS.

In response, the state government dispatched officials to Mandate Market, the nearest market to the site, where all suspected meat was confiscated for laboratory testing.

Speaking with NAN on Monday in Ilorin, Mr. Hadi explained that the cows were merely passing through the school's vicinity when they began to succumb.

He added that they learned the animals had come from a rice farm in Atere village, where the farmer had recently fumigated the land, suggesting that the cows may have ingested something harmful during their grazing.