By Gabriel Ewepu, Abuja

For the average residents in Tudun-Wada, a suburb of Abuja, Saturday July 4, 2016 began just like another bright and promising day.

Members of the community woke up as usual to go about their daily activities without premonition of any lurking danger.

*L-R Acting Chairman/CEO, NERC, Dr. Anthony Akah; Executive Director Technical, Joe Chiasa; Director, Regulatory, AEDC, Abimbola; Director, Safety NERC, Collins Chiabuka; survivor, Destiny Okoro and father, Mr. Peter Okoro, during the visit to families of the deceased survivors at Tudun-Wada, Abuja.

Then the unexpected happened. Suddenly there was the deafening sound of an explosion which was later traced to a transformer in the area.

The incident threw the community into pandemonium, as people began running for their dear lives.

That was not the end of the story. It was later discovered that the explosion affected some houses in the area leading to the electrocution of some residents. The dead were two men and one woman, while five persons were injured.

Residents of the community with a population of over 5, 000 people said the incident was an unusual one as they have never had this kind of experience before.

An eye witness, Victor Adeyemi, said he first noticed sparks emanating from the cables linked to the 750kV transformer. He added that the sparks were immediately followed by fire which engulfed most of the makeshift buildings that served as shelter to the low income residents in the area.

According to him: “The electric sparks started from the cable which linked the transformer to the various transmission lines. As the sparks continued, there were screams about people being electrocuted in their houses. I ran home to rescue my family but found out they had already fled the house for safety.

“This was a very terrible experience, made worse by the fact that the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, AEDC, was not on ground to arrest the situation.”

Narrating what happened on the fateful day, another resident simply identified as Nyinje, informed thus: “We were in our houses when our electric cables started sparking and out of fear for our lives we started rushing outside. All the houses connected to the transformer were on fire and in the process some people were electrocuted and died. My in-law, a young man with two children, rushed to the power-change to switch off the power supply and instantly got electrocuted and died. A woman was about switching off the fridge in her house and got electrocuted. She also died on the spot.”

According to Nyinje, the management of ABUJA disco was duly informed but did not respond immediately. He said officials from the company only arrived the community on Monday with members of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC.

“Had it been the staff of AEDC responded immediately that Saturday when we called and informed them that the transformer was about to explode, we would not have recorded any death or people injured. They were not on ground; had it been they were on duty this accident would not have happened.”

He also said that the cause of the explosion could be raced to too many wrong connections by some residents who he accused of using substandard cables which are in any case wrongly positioned. He also cited as part of the problem poor power infrastructure which AEDC had failed to address, concentrating instead on issuing estimated bills and revenue generation from their under-served customers.

A survivor, Ijeoma Nwoanu, a business woman in the community, said she was in her shop when the incident occurred. “I was in my shop that morning and suddenly I started feeling electric shocks all over the shop; I sustained injuries that seriously affected my legs. Some persons rushed me to the hospital where I spent three days before being discharged. I spent N40, 000 on my treatment,” Ms Nwoanu informed.

Another survivor, a commercial motorcycle rider who was on his way to a local clinic could not speak to the press. He suffered injury and was bleeding from his bandaged feet.

Some residents alleged that AEDC staff often tamper with electricity cables and habitually disconnect customers in the community.

However, while the AEDC is getting all the knocks over the transformer explosion and the attendant fatalities, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, is being praised for responding promptly in rendering assistance to the victims. It was said that it was through the Commission’s intervention that two of the victims were immediately taken to hospitals of their choice for proper medical attention and also footed their bills.

The two survivors are presently receiving treatment at the Feather Crest Hospital, Apo, Abuja.

Meantime, arrangements for the burial of the deceased are said to be ongoing, subject to the relevant laws and due process.