Following the death of two persons in an electricity mishap in Bosso, Niger State, the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) has set up a six-man committee to probe the cause of the incident.
Head, Public Relations of the Company, Ahmed Shekarau, who confirmed the development to the Nigerian Tribune in Abuja, said the committee was to investigate the circumstances surrounding the accident which occurred on Saturday, July 29, 2017 in Angwan Biri, a neighbourhood of Minna, Niger State.
He, however, revealed that a preliminary report on the incident showed that the binding wire of an 11Kv line got loose due to a windy condition and came into contact with the 415V red phase cable, thus sending high voltage which was alleged to have led to the unfortunate death of two people, while four others sustained injuries.
Inaugurating the panel in Abuja, the Director, Risk and Compliance, Collins Chabuka dismissed reports that 49 houses were affected in the incident.
He said the decision of the Company to set up a probe panel was in line with the internal AEDC Incident Reporting and Investigation Procedure Guidelines and industry best practice.
He said: “It is AEDC’s internal Health and Safety Policy requirements that all accidents are investigated by independent internal persons with extensive industry background, competence and knowledge.
“The purpose of the investigation is to highlight the shortcomings that may have led to the incident and also to recommend industry best practice and remedial measures to prevent a recurrence”, he said.
Describing the incident as “most unfortunate”, he said that the company had complied with regulatory requirements by officially notifying the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and the Nigeria Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA) of the accident.
The investigative panel is being headed by Engineer Mohammed Ainoko Sule. The panel has two weeks to submit its report.
Other members of the team are the Head of Health and Safety, Engineer Dirisu Biodun; the Regional Head, Human Resources, Malam Sani Ibrahim; the Team Lead, Legal Services, Niger Region, Barr. Aminu Ubandoma; the Regional Corporate Communications  Officer, Adamu Mohammed and a Health and Safety Officer, Mr. Hisham Kamar.