Policeman electrocuted while rescuing boy trapped by cable

A police officer, Sunday Joseph, was on Sunday electrocuted at a police barracks opposite the Ogun State Government House while attempting to rescue a 17-year-old boy, Moses, earlier trapped by a Power Holding Company’s high-tension cable.

The boy also died from electrocution in the incident which occurred at one of the road – expansion construction sites in the Isale Igbein area of the state.

The corpses of the two victims have been deposited at the morgue of the state Hospital, Ijaye.

Eyewitnesses said the teenager was scavenging for some materials from the rubble being used by a construction company to fill a ditch when he stepped on a PHCN live cable.

One of them said, “Moses, whose father was one of the police officers killed recently by armed robbers in Abeokuta, was about leaving the construction site when one of the iron rods he had salvaged from the rubble touched the high tension electricity cable and was electrocuted.”

Joseph, who was taking care of Moses since the death of his father was contacted and when he arrived at the construction site, he made for the body of the teenager who was still being trapped by the cable.

The police officer, who drove to the construction site in a Volkswagen Golf car with number plate Lagos FB 359 APP, was oblivious of efforts to stop him as he went for Moses’ lifeless body.

He was immediately trapped by the same live PHCN cable and left gasping for breath for a few seconds before his body went limp and he died.

An official of the Bureau of Electrical Engineering Services, who pleaded anonymity, said the high-tension line in the area was not switched off because a top PHCN official was having a party in Abeokuta.

The BEES official added that the refusal of the PHCN to switch off the high tension line serving the area also made it impossible for the technicians of the bureau to carry out their normal duty on Sunday.

The Secretary to the Ogun State Government, Mr. Taiwo Adeoluwa, was said to have rushed to the scene and called PHCN officials to switch off power in the area.

Adeoluwa later led government officials to the house of the deceased police officer inside the barracks where he promised government assistance to his family.

Also on Monday, the Senior Special Assistant to the Ogun State Governor, Patrick Akinduro, led another government delegation on a condolence visit to the family of the deceased policeman.

Akinduro assured the family of government’s readiness to assist them on the burial of the police officer.

PHCN Public Affairs Manager in charge of Ijeun and Olumo Districts of Abeokuta, Richard Oyewole, toldPUNCH Metro that an investigation would be launched into the incident.

Oyewole denied negligence by the PHCN regarding the incident.

“I have contacted some of our field officers, and like you are aware, yesterday was Sunday and normally if the Construction Companies are to work in any area, they will request outage but as we speak, yesterday being Sunday, there was no outage permit granted by our company.

“We are still making investigations and we are going to make announcement later on the issue,” he said.

The state command Police Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, described the incident as saddening.

Adejobi, a deputy superintendent of police said, “It is saddening. The commissioner of police commiserates with the affected families and we pray such an incident does not occur again.”