*A religious leader locked himself in a cage with three lions in their enclosure at an animal park in Nigeria to prove that “nothing can happen to a man of God.” According to the BBC, the man in the viral footage, dubbed Pastor Daniel, wanted to demonstrate his “divine protection” like Daniel in the bible.
The clip shows the pastor stroking the lions putting his arm in one lion’s mouth. As Indy 100 reports, Pastor Daniel invited his congregation to witness the stunt.
As it turns out, however, Pastor Daniel’s alleged divine powers are false.
He is actually a longtime zookeeper named Mohamed Abdirahman Mohamed.
Check him out in his vibrant blue suit inside the lion’s cage in the YouTube clip above.
MP Ronald Karauri offers a fully sponsored Maasai Mara trip to pastor who locked himself in a lion’s den pic.twitter.com/nwLWEwOKZD
— Kenyans.co.ke (@Kenyans) September 28, 2023
According to the BBC, the pastor has been working at the park for over eight years. Apparently, there are several videos across social media of him frolicking with the lions.
Pastor Daniel spoke to the BBC Somali last year. The animal caretaker said he trained the animals, including snakes, and considers them safe.
“They are harmless, they are like my children,” he told BBC Somali of the lions.
After the pastor’s lion’s den footage went viral, Kenyan MP Ronald Karauri challenged Pastor Daniel to try the stunt with wild lions at the Maasai Mara National Reserve.
“I volunteer to take him to the Maasai Mara please, all expenses paid. We look for the lions and he can go walk with them,” he said, Indy 100 reports.
READ MORE: Pastor Who Shot Wife, Then Himself, Had History of Domestic Violence: Report
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