Suspected cable vandal electrocuted in Edo

A young man suspected to be an electric cable vandal has been electrocuted in Jattu, Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo.

A source told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday that residents of the community woke up to meet the corpse of the suspect dangling on two electric poles that housed a transformer in the area.

The source alleged that the deceased had successfully cut the cable beneath the transformer and packed it aside.

According to him, luck ran out on the suspect when he climbed up to cut the four long cables that connect the transformer to the low tension wire, as power was restored to the area.

The suspect, whose identity could not be ascertained, is believed to be in his late 30s.

“We were surprised to wake up this morning to see a corpse dangling on the electric poles.

“We saw some cables he cut, but he also climbed up to cut the long cables to connect the low tension lines.

“It means he was caught up when the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) restored light to our area in the midnight,” said the source.

He said officials of the BEDC in the area later came to evacuate the corpse.

When contacted, Mr Chidi Nwabuzor, Public Relations Officer of the Police Command in Edo, said he was yet to be briefed about the development, but promised to get back.

The Chief Technical Officer of the BEDC, Mr Jonathan Lawani, who confirmed the incident, said that information on the matter was received in the morning.

“We got the information about the incident this morning and we have confirmed that the suspected vandal is not a staff of BEDC Electricity Plc.

“We want to use this incident to sound a strong warning to the public. Everyone must stay away from BEDC installations,” Lawani said. (NAN)