A middle-aged man, whose identity could not be ascertained at the time of filing this report, was electrocuted on Tuesday while attempting to vandalise the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) Plc’s transformer along Airport Road, Benin City.
The deceased had succeeded in cutting some of the cables before being electrocuted.
The incident, which occurred in the early hours of Tuesday, drew the attention of passersby, with many seen raining curses on the deceased for being responsible for their perpetual darkness. They remarked that he had finally met his Waterloo.
One resident of the area, who identified himself as Mr. Emmanuel, also known as James Bond 007, Airport Road Landlord, blamed the deceased’s actions on a get-rich-quick syndrome. He stated that the deceased would still be alive if he had cultivated due diligence in making money, adding that “life is a process.”
Mr. Emmanuel noted that despite losing his life in the process, the deceased had also succeeded in plunging the entire community into total darkness. He called on youths to shun the pursuit of quick money and seek genuine ways of earning to avoid unnecessary death.
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Speaking at the scene of the incident, Mrs. Evelyn Gbiwen, the Acting Head of Corporate Communications for BEDC Electricity Plc, decried the incessant acts of energy theft and vandalism of the company’s facilities within its franchise states of Edo, Delta, Ondo, and Ekiti. She appealed to the public to refrain from such dangerous acts.
Gbiwen expressed bewilderment at why people continued to engage in vandalism and energy theft despite the company’s regular warnings. She emphasized that the vandal’s actions had left the entire community in darkness.
She therefore urged residents in areas where BEDC’s facilities are located to be vigilant and help safeguard them from vandals so that the company could better serve them.”