Tension gripped residents of Omifon community in Odigbo Local Government Area of Ondo State last Wednesday after a suspected transformer vandal was electrocuted while allegedly trying to steal electrical components.
Sources within the neighbourhood told our correspondent that the yet-to-be-identified man was reportedly tampering with an armoured cable linked to a distribution transformer when the incident occurred.
A resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the matter, said power supply was active at the time.
“The man was trying to cut or remove part of the cable connected to the transformer when he was suddenly electrocuted.
The high voltage current killed him on the spot,” the source disclosed.
Officials of the Benin Electricity Distribution Company were subsequently notified and arrived at the scene to evacuate the corpse.
The incident has unsettled members of the community, many of whom described the development as both disturbing and unfortunate.
Residents lamented that vandalism of power installations has continued to pose serious challenges in several areas, often leading to prolonged blackouts and significant financial losses.
Community leaders, in separate interviews, called on inhabitants to be watchful and safeguard public utilities within their environment.
They also urged residents to promptly alert security agencies and relevant authorities to any suspicious movements around transformers and other electricity infrastructure to avert a recurrence.