A middle age man suspected to be an electric cable vandal has been fatally electrocuted in Benin, Edo State. 

The yet-to-be-identified man met his untimely death while tampering with cables of a transformer belonging to Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC). 

The incident occurred in the early hours of Tuesday, 16th of April, along Airport Road, Benin.

The deceased had succeeded in cutting some of the cables before he got electrocuted.

The incident drew the attentions of angry passers-by who blamed the deceased for their frequent power outages. 

A residents of the area, who gave his name as Emmanuel, blamed the action of the deceased on get-rich-quick syndrome.

When contacted, the Acting Head, Corporate Communications of BEDC Electricity Plc, Mrs Evelyn Gbiwen, lamented what she described as incessant act of energy theft and vandalism of the company’s facilities within its franchise states of Edo, Delta, Ondo and Ekiti.

She said this is in spite of different awareness and campaigns against vandalism and energy theft. 

Gbiwen who said that people must learn to desist from it because the act is so dangerous, noted that the singular act of this vandal, has thrown the entire community into total darkness.

She further appealed to residents in where BEDC’s facilities are located to be vigilant and help safeguard them from vandals so that the company can serve them better.