An attempted theft of electrical lines from a vital power station in a housing complex in Lagos State resulted in a fiery catastrophe when the suspected thief was electrocuted.
It happened early on Monday morning at the Lateef Kayode Jakande (LKJ) Gardens in Igando. At around 2:00 a.m., two intruders, Sadiq Danjuma and his accomplice, simply called “Yahoo,” scaled the fence along the LASU-Iba Expressway to gain access to the property.
The two went after subterranean power cables and started slicing through the high-voltage wires. However, Danjuma’s entry inside the estate’s Injection Sub-Station (ISS) turned the heist into a lethal one.
His body was stricken with burns and burnt after a terrible electrical shock.
Read Also: BREAKING: Gunmen Kill Three Police Officers in Enugu
His co-conspirator quickly left the site and disappeared into the night.
Danjuma begged security personnel, including members of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the Mountain Troops, to help him get medical attention so that he would disclose everything.
He disclosed that a cable theft syndicate had planned the entire operation in between sobs of agony.
Danjuma admitted, “Yahoo came from Oko Filling, and I came from Igando.” He also said, “Our boss gave me N5,000 up front for this job and promised the remaining amount after we delivered.”
It wasn’t their first hit at the LKJ facility, he also acknowledged.
They were accused in a prior raid of selling stolen cables to Akanji, a junk dealer, for N10,000 per kilogram. This time, a dealer named Seriki was the intended recipient of the loot.
Residents of LKJ Gardens expressed their displeasure with the Lagos State Command of the NSCDC for what they perceived as a slack reaction, sparking controversy inside the community.
Estate Chairman Olajide Andu blasted the agency for not turning over the injured suspect quickly, claiming that officials appeared more focused on his care than on bringing about rapid justice.
Andu stated: “We were taken from Igando to the corps State Command at Alausa after treating him, but we were taken aback by their behavior.” He needed to be taken to the hospital so that we could obtain a medical report. Many residents expressed their ire at this, complaining that the NSCDC should be in charge of it.
“We have taken a cable thief into custody and given him the care he needed. The NSCDC State Command asked us to return to the hospital for a medical report at approximately 5 p.m., which startled us.
We were directed to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, and General Hospital, Igando after our men relocated to a clinic within the Alausa secretariat.
By 8 p.m., we were still accompanying the suspect as he drove from Alausa back to Igando. What would have happened if his gang had reorganized and attacked us en route? We are quite dissatisfied with the way the NSCDC carried out their responsibility.
Their actions didn’t make victims of these nefarious individuals eager to turn over anyone they had detained. By their actions, they appear to be promoting jungle justice.
Residents of LKJ demanded an investigation on the Lagos State Command’s behavior by the NSCDC’s national body.
