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One of Nigeria’s most fascinating locations is the cursed Inachalo River in Idah, Kogi state. It is said that if you catch a fish in the Inachalo River and try to cook it, the fish will always remain raw, no matter how much heat you apply.
According to some other reports, they’re not your typical tilapia or catfish, but rather a species of monstrously malformed fish. Neither locals nor visitors to the area consume the fish. Some people believe that the Inachalo fish bones are poisonous and that anyone who is hurt by them will never recover.
The Inachalo River and statues of two ancient queens are among the natural and tourist attractions of the Idah Kingdom. Princess Oma-Odoko was buried alive during the Igala-Jukun conflict, whereas Princess Inikpi gave her life to ensure the survival of her people during the Igala-Benin conflict.
The Oma Odoko shrine, located on the cursed Inachalo River’s bank, is linked to both her death and the conflict. Nobody has been able to capture or kill fish from the Inachalo River for human consumption since then. Inachalo seafood is always served raw. The villagers do not catch or eat the fish. There is a statue of Princess Oma-Odoko there to honor her for her valiant efforts to preserve the Igala culture and heritage. Omodoko is still revered as a legendary hero by the Ifala people.
Princess Oma-Odoko, like Inikpi, is said to have asked to be buried alive with some slaves. In The Incarnate Being Phenomenon in African Culture, Tom Miachi writes that the Igala, or Igala-aided medical men, poisoned the Inachalo River, killing many invading Jukun soldiers. Many Jukun were slaughtered, and the Igala gained an advantage, legend has it, when Hausa mallams from Bebeji, in modern-day Kano state, aided the Igala by contaminating the river.
Because the Jukuns transformed into fish and fled down the Inachalo River, the supernatural fish are said to exist. Miachi adds some interesting commentary, implying that not much is known or told about Oma-Odoko in Igala oral history. There is no mention of her in any works of history or anthropology written by authors from other countries. However, the Ifala people revere Oma-Odoko because she is a mythical figure with a long history of adoration.
Princess Oma-Odoko was the daughter of Igala Empire ruler Attah Idoko, who was sacrificed to save her fatherland during the conflict between the Igala and Jukun kingdoms. Oma-Odoko, who shares Inikpi’s historical perspectives, readily agreed to be buried alive with the other nine girls in order to keep the Igala kingdom from falling to the Jukun Kingdom during the inter-tribal war.
In 1834, astrologers used a medieval chemical device weapon to sacrifice Princess Oma-Odoko at Inachalo River, Idah, in an intertribal conflict between the Jukuns and the Igala-Kingdom. The Inachalo River continues to poison the Jukun Kingdom!!!
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