FATALITIES FROM ELECTRICAL ACCIDENTS

Issues of safety must be taken seriously

Recent revelation that no fewer than 51 people lost their lives in electrical accidents in the first half of 2024 is troubling. According to the Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency, 10 of the fatalities involved staff members of the affected distribution companies (DISCOs), including Eko, Jos, Abuja, Benin, Port Harcourt, and Enugu. Based on the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) report, eight key factors were identified for the tragedies: Failure of system protection equipment, absence of protection devices in certain areas, poor network maintenance, improper cable termination, and violations of right-of-way regulations. Other causes included slow response times, the use of substandard materials, lack of safety knowledge, and vandalism of power infrastructure.

That such tragedies continue to recur raise serious questions about how the authorities in the sector take the issue of safety. But the statistic of death by electrocution is long, especially among consumers and innocent citizens. Most of them result from the lackadaisical attitude of the electricity company workers, who often ignore early warnings and appeals from residents about faulty wires in their neighbourhoods. 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 to resort to self-help with all the attendant risks. 

Despite the privatisation of the power sector, the transmission lines remain the same. 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.

While the body count continues to mount, the regulatory authorities have not been able to provide any solution. In one incident a few years ago, a high-tension wire snapped off a pole, electrocuting a staff of a power distribution company, and a security guard who had lived and worked in the area for about 30 years. In yet another 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 Centre, 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. In its report for the second quarter of 2019, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) lamented that no fewer than three persons were electrocuted every week.  

What the foregoing suggests clearly is that we place little or no premium on human lives in Nigeria. 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.