A 34-year-old man, John Pere, suffered severe injuries while attempting to vandalize a 33KV cable belonging to the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) in Delta State. The incident occurred early Thursday morning near the 3 Battalion Nigerian Army Effurun Barracks, off Refinery Road, Warri.
According to eyewitnesses, Pere was caught off guard when power was suddenly restored to the armored cable he was trying to cut. He sustained severe burns and was seen writhing in pain at the scene.
Pere confessed to being an expert in climbing electric poles without a ladder and admitted to previously vandalizing electricity cables in Obodo, which he sold to cart pushers. He claimed to operate alone and had turned to cable vandalism after failing to make a living from illegal oil bunkering.
BEDC’s Public Affairs Relations Manager, Esther Okolie, stated that if Pere had succeeded, the entire Refinery Road substation would have lost power. She attributed cable vandalism partly to the distribution companies’ inability to provide steady power supply, requiring BEDC to replace stolen cables before restoring power.
The police have yet to arrive at the scene to investigate or take Pere to the hospital. Delta State Police Public Relations Officer Bright Edafe promised that the command would investigate to determine if Pere works alone or with other vandals.
