From Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
A middle-aged man said to be a father of two, simply identified as Amas lost his life over the weekend after being electrocuted at a high-tension pole in Ekeki community opposite the new Police Divisional Headquarters along Azikoro road, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
Investigations revealed that the deceased, who was not a staff of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) but lived in the neighbourhood, was on the pole to connect clients to the federal line after a heavy rain fall before the incident occurred.
Residents of the area who had suffered epileptic power supply since the beginning of the year were said to have prevailed on the deceased to connect the neighbourhood to the federal line which has assurance of 12 to 13 hours power supply daily.
The deceased, who hailed from Nembe Local Government Area of the state, was said to have been stuck on the pole for hours before officials of the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company, PHEDC arrived at the scene.
A resident of Azikoro Road, Micheal Orubo, who witnessed the incident, described the deceased as an easy-going person who did electrical work and power connections to cater to his family.
“Amas lived on our street; he did most of the connection work in this area. Why did death come to him in such a way? He just left us where we were playing chess game, and said he was coming back but never returned.
“He was an easy-going man; who will care for the two kids he has left behind?
“The money he got from the connections was what he managed to feed his family. What manner of death was this? There was rain, so he left to fix the connection immediately after the rain,” he said.
Another resident who identified himself as Jackson expressed shock at the incident because he was with the deceased some minutes before he climbed the pole.
“He just passed me not more than five minutes immediately the rain stopped. The next thing I heard people screaming; we rushed to the scene of the incident but couldn’t help him because he was wearing a belt; so it held him tight to the pole. There was nothing the people could do because we were all scared and it was still raining.”
Police operatives at the Ekeki Police Division were also said to have witnessed the incident. They were also around when the body was brought down by officials of PHEDC.