A 34-year-old man, John Pere, was on Monday, September 30, 2024, in serious pain after sustaining burn injuries in a failed attempt to vandalize a 33KV BEDC line on the link road that leads to 3 Battalion Nigerian Army Effurun Barracks off the popular Refinery Road in Delta State.
Investigations showed that luck ran out for John Pere when power was suddenly restored to the line while he was trying to cut the armoured cable supplying current to the system.
He got an immediate shock and severe burns in the process.
John Pere who was in the throes of pain at the scene of the incid,ent narrated that he was an expert in climbing electric poles without a ladder.
Narrating further, he said he has done similar vandalism of electricity wires in Obodo and that he usually sells the stolen wires to itinerant cart pushers.
According to him, he had attempted illegal oil bunkering and failed to make a living from the business before switching to vandalizing electricity cables.
The 34-year-old said he operates alone, but this could not be verified.
The incident was said to have occurred about midnight.
If John Pere had succeeded in his mission an entire part of the Refinery road substation would have been out of service for a while as BEDC scrambles to replace the missing cable and restore power to the affected area.
BEDC officials said the matter had been reported to the police but were not forthcoming with further information concerning the incident.
As at the time of this report the police were yet to arrive at the scene of the incident to commence investigations or take the badly burnt John Pere to the hospital.
NewsNet Nigeria is yet to confirm if John Pere was later moved from the scene and survived the severe burn injuries sustained.
Incidences of electricity wire vandalization account partly for why electricity companies in Nigeria are unable to ensure a steady power supply.
