The body was discovered in the early hours of Saturday morning by residents on their way to the mosque for morning prayers and it was reported to the police.
A man suspected to be vandalising power infrastructure was found dead inside a transformer substation at Commissioners’ Quarters in Damaturu, the capital of Yobe State.
The body was discovered in the early hours of Saturday morning by residents on their way to the mosque for morning prayers and it was reported to the police.
A patrol team from "Operation Haba Maza" evacuated the body to the Damaturu Teaching Hospital, where it was later identified and claimed by the suspect’s relatives.
Following the incident, the Yola Electricity Distribution Company (YEDC) confirmed that their Regional Manager and the Operation and Maintenance Officer visited the site to assess the situation.
YEDC’s Communication Officer, Blessing Tunoh, said in a statement that the deceased had attempted to shield himself with his shirt while tampering with exposed live wires.
“Unfortunately, contact with the live cable led to his instant electrocution. However, the transformer remained intact, and no further damage was reported.” Tunoh said.
The Yobe State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Dungus Abdulkarim, provided additional details, stating that the suspect had likely been attempting to steal power assets during a power outage at night but got electrocuted when the power was unexpectedly restored.
The Nigeria Police Force reiterated its commitment to working alongside YEDC to protect power infrastructure from vandalism.
"We will continue to support the YEDC in safeguarding their installations and ensuring that vandals who tamper with public assets are prosecuted." DSP Abdulkarim assured.