At least two inmates awaiting trial at an Akwa Ibom State Custodial Centre are feared dead following an explosion from a faulty transformer located near the facility.
The incident, which happened a fortnight ago and injured two others, was said to have caused a blackout throughout the period and damaged electrical appliances in the centre.
The high-voltage wire reportedly snapped and dropped directly on a portion of the custodial facility, causing an electrocution that led to the death of the inmates.
The State Controller of Corrections, Frank Okonkwo, who confirmed the tragic passing of the two awaiting-trial inmates of the Uyo Custodial Centre on Thursday, described the incident as unfortunate.
He regretted that the explosion also damaged all electrical appliances at the centre, revealing that the victims were thrown up from where they were sitting and were later rushed to the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital by the facility’s doctor, where they were pronounced dead.
According to him, the victims were awaiting trial for conspiracy, kidnapping, and armed robbery, noting, however, that they were presumed innocent until proven otherwise by the court.
The Controller further stated that the families had been contacted and that one of them had concluded the process for the retrieval of the corpse, adding that the command would only release the corpses upon completion of investigations.
“It was very unfortunate because the thing caused a lot of damage, both to our facility and the families of the deceased.
“When that explosion occurred at the transformer, officials of PHEDC came and said the explosion was a result of too much voltage.
The thing affected us in that it actually destroyed or damaged all electrical appliances, computers, etc., in our facility,” he said.