By Frank Ulom
CALABAR (CONVERSEER) – A 32-year-old man identified as Udo Marley has been electrocuted while trying to steal wires from high tension in Calabar, Cross River State.
Converseer gathered that the incident happened on Monday morning at about 5 AM at Poultry Junction, Poultry Road, off New Airport Road, Anantigha, Calabar South Local Government Area of the state.
According to eyewitnesses, the people woke up to see Udo, an alleged notorious vandal in the area, hanging on the high tension line and already dead.
“We woke up to see Udo Marley about 5 AM this morning, hanging on the high tension and already dead. He is a notorious vandal within the area and Calabar South in general, and perhaps he went there to vandalise the high tension
cable,” one of the eyewitnesses.
Confirming the story, Chief Superintendent Eremi Solomon John, State Public Relations Officer for the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Cross River State Command, said that when one of their officers visited the scene, Udo was already electrocuted.
According to Eremi, “Our divisional officer of Calabar South, Chief Superintendent Orok told us that the incident happened about 5 AM in the morning (Monday) when people woke up to see the suspect, Udo Marley, as popularly known, already dead on top of that high tension.”
The NSCDC PRO said, “The command had received complaints about his vandal activity in Calabar South, and perhaps he found his way up there to see how he could vandalise the high tension, maybe for his selfish gain, and he was caught up, do I say, by nature, and was arrested by nature, if I would put it that way.
“It’s a very, very sad thing, we would say, but it’s a wake-up call to the public to make sure that we report all vandals within our areas.”
Eremi said, “Any item or public infrastructure that the government has put within your environment should be protected. You should take hold and take control of these properties that have been given to you. So I believe that everybody living within those areas should take it as a responsibility to protect this infrastructure. It’s not just for the security agent, but your own duty is to give information.”
Sending a message to vandals and would-be vandals, Eremi said, “This message goes to vandals and intended vandals, you do not know when power will come into those high tension. How would you go climb such a high tension pole to vandalise it if you are not under an influence, which we believe most of these guys are under very serious influence.”
He further disclosed that, “We are always ready because we have the mandate to protect critical national assets which the PHED installations are under our purview.”
