Falling wires electrocute nine-year-old pupil

The family members of a nine-year-old boy, Michael Garuba, have been thrown into mourning after he was electrocuted to death by wires at the frontage of their residence in the Ajeromi White Sand area of Ijora, Lagos.

The community is a swampy area, and there is a long narrowed median, which connects the deceased’s residence to the neighbouring compounds.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the primary three pupil had gone to play with his peers in one of the neighbouring compounds on Sunday.

While he was on his way back home around 10.30am, his leg reportedly slipped from the median.

He was said to have held onto the sagged wires to prevent him from falling into the swamp when he was electrocuted.

A resident, who identified himself only as Daniel, said a passerby, who saw the boy, raised the alarm.

He said, “The boy was on the median when one of his legs slipped. He did not want to fall inside the swamp, so he held onto the wires. Unfortunately, a part of the wires was naked and there was power supply at that time. That was how he was electrocuted.”

Our correspondent, who visited the deceased’s family on Monday, observed that the wires were exposed in several places, while planks on which the wires hung, were decrepit.

The deceased’s father, Isiaq Garba, who described his son’s death as avoidable, said he had planned to relocate the family from the neighbourhood, but for financial constraints.

He said, “This kind of place is not ideal to live in. But things are not easy for me to afford a good apartment. The little I earn is what I use to feed the family and pay his (Michael) school fees and that of his brother. Michael was in primary three.

“This kind of incident is avoidable if the wires are raised. People pay N500 every month to the persons in charge of the electricity here, but they refused to buy more planks to raise the wires. We have informed the Ijora Police Division and they promised to do something about it.”

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, said investigation was ongoing on the incident.

She said, “On October 16, at about 10.30am, an electric wire allegedly fell on one Michael Garuba of Ajeromi White Sand, Ijora Badia. The victim got electrocuted and died on the spot. The corpse was taken to a morgue while investigation continues.”