A 15-year-old boy has been electrocuted to death following his attempt to roll up an electricity wire carelessly left on the ground by Jos Electricity Distribution (JED) staff who allegedly disconnected some consumers from the pole in Achussa suburb of Makurdi in Benue State.
The victim, whose name was given as Emmanuel, was unaware that JED came around while residents were at work to do disconnection.
The deceased had just returned from school when a neighbour’s child who made contacts with the wire and was shocked ran to him.
Our correspondent gathered that the deceased Emmanuel, therefore went to roll up the wire from the ground to avert other children from making contacts with it but he was however in the process electrocuted to death.
The deceased’s uncle, Samuel Olokpo, while narrating the incident to journalists in Makurdi said another neighbour who returned from work observed an abnormal function of electricity supply to his house went outside to find out what was wrong when he saw the victim on the ground twisting from the electrocution.
He had to raise an alarm while he intervened to push the deceased away with a dry stick.
Olokpo added that his mother, Mama Veronica Odo, whom the deceased lived with was still at work at the time the neighbours rushed the victim to two different hospitals accompanied by police personnel.
The deceased was pronounced dead by medical personnel.
He described his late nephew who was a JSS1 student of the technical arm of Benue State University (BSU) as an obedient child who was skilled in the art of craft.
On her part, Mama Odo, who sobbed uncontrollably, said the late Emmanuel was her first grandchild and had lived with her since he was a baby.
The regional manager of JED, Olaniyi Oluwale, however, refused to comment on the matter as he sent his personal assistant to tell journalists waiting at his office to go away even after stating their reason for contacting him.
Meanwhile, the family of the deceased said they have notified their lawyer about the incident.
