A suspected cable vandal lost his life after being electrocuted while allegedly attempting to steal electrical cables from the Etete Injection Substation belonging to the Benin Electricity Distribution Company Plc in Benin City, Edo State.
The Punch reported that the body of the deceased was recovered by officers from the Etete Police Division on Tuesday morning.
The incident occurred at the injection substation, a key facility that receives electricity from the national transmission grid before distributing it through the network to consumers. The station reportedly sustained damage during the attempted theft.
BEDC’s Head of Branding and Corporate Communications, Evelyn Gbiwen, told journalists that the company was alerted after the suspect was electrocuted while allegedly returning to the substation to continue stealing cables.
She disclosed that suspected members of the same group had earlier broken into the facility on Sunday and made away with several copper cables before allegedly returning on Monday night.
According to Gbiwen, the company’s Regional Head, Technical, had anticipated another attack and instructed technical personnel to stay on alert.
Gbiwen explained, “The suspect was electrocuted after mistakenly cutting what he believed was an earthing cable, but which was actually a neutral cable connected to the power transformer, triggering an electrical explosion.”
She also appealed to residents to support efforts to safeguard electricity infrastructure, noting that vandalism had become a major challenge across BEDC’s four franchise states.
“The destruction of electricity infrastructure continues to disrupt power supply and impose huge financial losses on the company. I urge residents living close to substations and transformers to be vigilant,” Gbiwen added.
Also speaking, the Regional Head, Technical, Benin South Region, Engr. Afebogbe Oguezor, said preliminary investigations suggested the suspects gained access to the substation by climbing over the perimeter fence despite existing security arrangements.
He added that BEDC was reviewing additional security measures, including the installation of barbed wire and other protective barriers around the facility, to prevent similar incidents in the future.
