A suspected vandal has been electrocuted in Yobe State while trying to steal an exposed wire from a transformer substation at the Commissioners’ Quarters in the state capital, Damaturu.
This was contained in a statement made available by the Communications Officer of Yola Electricity Distribution Company (YEDC), Blessing Tunoh, on Saturday.
Tunoh said that the company’s Regional Manager of Operations had visited the scene alongside the Maintenance Officer after receiving the report of the incident.
She said that the suspect’s body was evacuate by the Damaturu police patrol team also known as “Operation Haba Maza”, to the Damaturu Teaching Hospital.
According to her, the relatives of the deceased came and identified the deceased’s corpse on arrival at the hospital and claimed it.
The spokesperson said, “Investigation revealed that the deceased attempted to use his shirt to shield himself while tampering with an exposed live wire during the illegal act.
“Unfortunately, contact with the live cable led to his instant electrocution but the transformer was not damaged, and no further vandalism was reported.”
She quoted the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Yobe State Command, DSP Dungus Abdulkarim, as having stated that the vandal had attempted to steal the power assets at about 1:00 a.m.
Abdulkarim said, “There was power outage when the suspected vandal entered into the transformer substation but was suddenly electrocuted when power was restored.
“His lifeless body was discovered in the early hours of the morning by residents on their way to the mosque for morning prayers.
“The incident was promptly reported to the Maisandari ‘B’ Division of the Police Command in Yobe, which deployed personnel to evacuate the body.
“We will continue to support the YEDC in protecting their installations and prosecuting arrested vandals who damage power infrastructure and disrupt services.” (THE NETWORK)
