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, told PUNCH
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."

SOURCE: mobile.punchng.com/output.php?link=http://www.punchng.com/news/policeman-electrocuted-while-rescuing-boy-trapped-by-cable/

Rest in peace to the dead. The power Holding Company should learn to do its job well in order to put a stop to these avoidable deaths by high tension wire.

What a tragic hero