Four children have perished after they were electrocuted in the Ile Oluji /Okeigbo Local Government Area of the Ondo State in South-West Nigeria.
The children died when an electric cable fell on the metal container shop they were staying inside, according to a report filed by powerupng.com citing Gatekeepers News.
The incident reportedly occurred last Monday.
“Yes, we can confirm the death of the four kids. An electric cable fell while they were inside a container. We have commenced investigation into the matter,” the Public Relations Officer of the Ondo State Police Command, Funmilayo Odunlami, said.
According to the report, two of the four victims were siblings who visited their aunt for the Easter holiday in the community.
The victims and other children were reportedly playing in the container when the incident happened.
Reacting to the incident, the senator representing Ondo South, Nicholas Tofowomo, said he would ensure the parents of the victims get justice if the Benin Electricity Distribution Company was found culpable of the matter.
He warned the residents of the community against erecting buildings or shops under high tension cables or any power supply line.
“We cannot allow lawlessness to continue in this country. I will pursue justice for the parents if investigations showed culpability of the BEDC.
“Moreover, the government must do its job by not allowing shops or buildings to be erected under power lines. The lives of these precious children would not have been wasted if individuals do their jobs accordingly.”
Reacting to the tragic news, the Corporate Affairs Manager of the Benin Electricity Distribution Company, Ondo State, Michael Barnabas, said the incident was fatal because the metal container shop was under the high tension electric cable.
“Sadly, we received information about the electrocution of four little children within our network in Ile-Oluji due to an 11kv line that snapped. As a company, we console the families of the children because life is very sacred and should not end prematurely in this way.
“The deaths would have been avoidable if there were nothing within the 11meters right of way statutorily required for such line.
“While we don’t have the powers to relocate people directly living or trading under our electricity lines, we shall be very brutal in disconnecting such customers from the public power supply and ensure they never have access to it again which would probably lead to them relocating voluntarily out of the harm’s way. By this, we believe we can prevent future occurrence of similar sad incidents in future,” he concluded.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com