25th June, 2012
The Apata area of Ibadan was today thrown into mourning as Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, electric cable which fell from an electric pole electrocuted six people.
The seventh victim, however, survived and she is receiving treatment at a hospital.
Among the electrocuted was a pregnant woman and her mother. Their corpses, according to sources, have been deposited at a morgue within the city.
Mrs. Afusatu Abiade, the only survivor of the incident which happened at the Agbekoya Market, was seriously injured. She had burns from shoulders to her legs.
She lives at Omi-Adio area of Ibadan. She told P.M.NEWS that “I came to the market around 5.30 a.m. to sell vegetables. I had started selling when I heard a loud sound and the electric wire sparked, caught fire and cut off from the pole.
“While trying to escape, the wire hit me and threw me down. That was all I knew till I found myself at the hospital.”
The woman, who was placed on admission at the Garden of Eden Hospital situated at the Aba-Alamu area of Apata, thanked God that she survived the incident. According to her, she saw the corpses of those affected being carried away.
One of her sons, Matthew Adewale, said though they were born Muslims, they had converted to Christianity, saying this may have been his mother’s saving grace.
The doctor on duty, Dr. Fidelis Okorion, said though he was not around when the incident happened, he was told that all the victims were brought to the hospital but that the doctors tried their best but could only save one of them.
He said two of the victims of the incident were dead on arrival while the other four died at the hospital.
The people of the area told P.M.NEWS that they had made several complaints to PHCN about the congestion of the poles, stressing that the incident was not the first.
As at the time of this report, the police had cordoned off the area.
—Gbenro Adesina/Ibadan