By Afahame Bassey, BAYELSA |
A man, identified as Amas and father of two, lost his life on Friday evening after being electrocuted on a high-tension pole in the Ekeki community of Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, near the Police Divisional Headquarters along Azikoro Road.
It was gathered that the deceased, who was not an employee of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) but lived in the neighborhood, had climbed the pole to connect clients to a Federal power line before the fatal incident occurred.
Residents of the area reported that due to the poor power supply in the state, many preferred the federal line, which assured 12 to 13 hours of power supply daily.
The deceased, originally from Nembe Local Government Area of the state, was reportedly stuck on the pole for hours before officials of PHCN arrived to retrieve his body.
Michael Orubo, resident of Azikoro Road who witnessed the incident, described the deceased as an easy-going person who performed electrical work to support his family.
He said: “Amas lived on our street and did most of the connection work in this area. Why has death come to him in such a way?
“He just left us where we were playing a chess game and said he was coming back but never returned. He was easy-going. Who will care for the two kids he has left behind?
“The money he earned from these electrical connections was what he used to feed his family. What manner of death is this? Someone we were with throughout this period of rain, he left to fix the connection immediately after the rain stopped.”
Another resident commented, “He just passed me not more than five minutes after the rain stopped. The next thing I heard was people screaming. We rushed to the scene but couldn’t help because he was wearing a belt that held him tightly to the pole. There was nothing we could do because we were all scared.”
Workers from the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) later came and removed the lifeless body after it had hung on the pole for hours.
The Police spokesman in Bayelsa State, ASP Musa Muhammed, could not be reached for confirmation as he was not answering his calls at the time of filing this report.
