Wed Jun 29,12:09 PM ET

LAGOS (AFP) - Nigerian police have released a cow which they had
arrested after it trampled a bus driver to death, but have charged
the animal's owner with criminal negligence.

"The cow has been released after its owner appeared. He has been
charged in court with negligence and a dangerous act. He will need to
prove his innocence in court," police spokeman Olubode Ojajuni said
Wednesday.

Officers announced the "arrest" of the cow earlier this month after
it gored and battered a bus driver who had stopped to urinate by the
side of the road.

It was detained for several days at the Trade Fair police station in
the Ojo district of Lagos, a sprawling port and commercial centre and
Africa's biggest city, while police investigated.

Many thousands of cows, donkeys, goats, chicken and dogs are allowed
to freely roam streets in Nigeria as a law against the uncontrolled
movement of animals is rarely enforced.

In May, 25 people were killed when a truck carrying traders to market
swerved to avoid a cow and ploughed into a crowded cross-country bus.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20050629/od_afp/nigeriacrimeanimalscowoffbeat_050629160918;_ylt=AuAbRNXVx7keqjVehST4rGSs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3NW1oMDRpBHNlYwM3NTc-