Tragic end of a cable thief

Note: This story contains a graphic photo some may consider offensive.

By Wole Mosadomi, Minna
IT was a case of everyday for the thief, then comes a day of reckoning. There are many who specialise in vandalising  Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, transformers and stealing cables there. Their criminal exploits in this regard have over time afforded them the opportunity of becoming instant millionaires.

Unfortunately while the vandals and their collaborators smile to the bank, thousands of electricity consumers who are the direct beneficiaries of PHCN services are thrown into darkness and hardship as their businesses are made to suffer due to lack of constant power supply.

*The vandalised transformer where the thief met his death

But it was to be a tragic end of one of these cable thieves, a 20-year-plus-old man as he  was electrocuted while trying to steal a PHCN cable.

Time was about 3am. The young man had cashed on  a black-out on NITECO Road, Minna, the Niger State capital, which is about 200 metres to the residence of the state governor, Dr. Mu,azu Babangida Aliyu. The yet-to-be-identified vandal met his untimely death while attempting to cut an up-raiser cable from the feeder pillar transformer.

He had succeeded in cutting the cable from the base of the transformer and was at the final lap of cutting the positive line from the pole when he was electrocuted. This happened as the PHCN unexpectedly restored power supply to the area.

Loud bang from transformer

There was a loud bang from the transformer when the light was restored which led to panic in the area and out of fear, the residents could not come out. At about 6am, a lifeless body was discovered by a passer-by who later raised an alarm. A report was immediately lodged at the Tudun Wada Police Station and after investigation and inspection, the corpse was removed by the police and deposited at the Minna General Hospital Mortuary.

The news of the electrocution soon spread to the nooks and crannies of the town and less than an hour, the scene of the tragedy was thronged by curious onlookers.

Some members of the crowd, especially the youth, became restive as they could not rein in their anger. They even attempted to set the body of the vandal ablaze but this was prevented by some elders in the area who pleaded with the irate youths not to take the law into their hands, especially since the case had been reported to the police.

The PHCN, in a swift reaction, described the development as very unfortunate. The Senior Manager (Distribution) PHCN Minna, Musa Oricha Nuhu, an engineer, while speaking with Vanguard Metro, VM, exonerated the company from blame over the tragic end of the deceased, adding that he was neither a full nor contract staff of the company and had never served with the company in any capacity.

Body of the alleged transformer vandal

He pointed out that most of the vandalization of PHCN cables were always carried out by non-staff of the company contrary to the belief that the nefarious activities were always carried out by their staff.

The Senior Manager who frowned at the frequent vandalization of PHCN property, especially transformers, called on the public to rise to the occasion by protecting the transformers, cables and other PHCN  property in their domains since they are meant to serve them.

He said within the past three to four months in Minna alone, no fewer than 20 transformers and cables have been vandalized, adding that this has been adding more problems to the company.

He mentioned transformers at the Commissioners’ Quarters, the one directly opposite Paikoro Police Station, PZ, Fadama-NITECO road, Tudun Fulani, Tudun Wada Low Cost, Dutsen Kura, Bahago Roundabout, Bosso Estate at the back of Gidan Matasa, among others and wondered how these criminal operations succeeded without the thieves being challenged by members of the public.

“It is unfortunate that these transformers were vandalized in the heart of the town and even in daylight and the vandals were not challenged. Some of these transformers have been vandalized for more than two or three times. We should realise that these PHCN properties are for the public and we should be able to protect them as our personal belongings, more so as they are serving us,” the senior Manager remarked.

Nuhu pointed out that out of the three different types of cable used by the company, two of them, 150mm by 4 core and 500mm by 1 core have become “hot cake” for the vandals because of their high market value and demand.

According to him, since the cable (copper) when stolen  is melted and used in the making  Jewelries, it is usually sold at high prices. “I can tell you that each metre of the vandalized cable sells for between N150,000 to N200,000 and you can imagine how much goes into the pockets of these vandals depending on the metres stolen,” the senior manager further explained.

On the way out, Nuhu said the company will continue to carry out its enlightenment programme on the need for the public to protect these PHCN installations as their own, saying: “When there is no light, consumers should be more alert by watching over their transformers and cables because these property serve them; they are public property and they should be protected; it would not be out of place if each of these communities having these PHCN property in their domains engage a vigilante group to keep watch over them in our own interest.”

Rationale behind action

Meanwhile, the corpse of the vandal which was deposited at the mortuary of the Minna General Hospital has been released to the relatives for burial.

This has left some members of the public wondering on the rationale behind the action, arguing that those who came to claim the corpse should have been arrested in order to obtain more information on the deceased and his likely collaborators.

Niger State Police Command spokesman, ASP Richard Oguche, when contacted said investigation on the matter is still on but added that it will be wrong for the Police to have arrested the relatives who have come forward to claim the corpse of their kingsman adding: “Afterall, no responsible parents will encourage their children to go and steal and if they are arrested, it will serve no purpose, especially since the principal actor, (deceased vandal) has received instant punishment by being electrocuted  and he is now minus  one among the vandals”.

Oguche said the only way out to this frequent vandalisation is for the public to ask questions when people are seen close or even working on their transformers because they could be vandals pretending to be PHCN staff.