ON DEATH BY ELECTROCUTION
NERC must do more by enforcing safety standards
In what has become a familiar tragedy, five persons, including a permanent secretary, were recently killed by electrocution in Tudun-Wadan Pantami community of Gombe State while 13 others sustained varying degrees of injuries. According to the Gombe State Police Command spokesman, DSP Buhari Abdullahi, a high-voltage surge from a nearby electricity transformer led to the tragedy. Meanwhile, based on the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) report, key factors for such tragedies include failure of system protection equipment, absence of protection devices in certain areas, poor network maintenance, improper cable termination, the use of substandard materials, etc.
Despite the charge by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, that the judiciary should hold electricity distribution companies (DisCos) accountable for the growing number of Nigerians who die from electrocution, nothing seems to have changed. Perhaps because injured victims and the families of those who die have not imbibed the culture of seeking redress. Yet, according to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), no fewer than 112 Nigerians died in 2024 from electricity-related accidents, three less than the 115 fatalities in the preceding year 2023. In the first quarter of 2025, electricity-related incidents resulted to the death of 12 persons and 14 injuries.That such tragedies continue to recur raise serious questions about how the authorities in the power sector take the issue of safety.
The problem is largely linked to distribution lapses. In several places across the country today, there are many old and broken down wooden and concrete electricity poles, some with naked wires dangling overhead. It only takes a serious rainfall or heavy wind to blow off some of the poles. In such a situation, inhabitants of the affected areas live in constant fear of instant death. That is why we reiterate our call on the authorities in the power sector to develop a habit of quick response to complaints about fallen electricity poles and exposed live wires.
Indeed, the statistics of death by electrocution is long, especially among consumers and innocent citizens. From available records, the time lag between when a fault is reported and fixed can take weeks. There are also times when there would be no response thus leaving residents with no other choice than a resort to self-help with all the attendant risks. In one incident a few years ago, a high-tension wire snapped off a pole, electrocuting a staff of a power DisCo, and a security guard who had lived and worked in the area for about 30 years. In yet another shocking incident, a middle-aged woman and her son were electrocuted in Osogbo, also in Osun State by a cable felled by rain. Mother and son reportedly stepped on live electric cable as they attempted to escape from the electric shocks that reportedly affected their homes when the cable fell.
In 2019, six inmates serving various prison terms at Ikoyi Correctional Center, Lagos, died of electrocution, following electricity surge that led to an explosion of cables. Several inmates were also injured. Although the then Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola visited the centre in the aftermath and made some feeble promises, no action has been taken since then. While NERC has issued several statements on the number of fatalities from electrocution, we are not aware of any sanction from the regulator.
What the foregoing suggests clearly is that we place little or no premium on human lives. Beyond the risk of electrocution, people living around power lines are prone to possible negative health effects of electromagnetic fields emitted by the transmission lines. We therefore urge authorities in the power sector to come up with stringent policies and implement proper educational programmes regarding the issue of safety as most of the causes of death in the sector are preventable.
