after a live wire electrocuted a pregnant
woman, identified only as Mrs. Ameh, and her
three-year-old daughter in front of their
home on Onabanjo Street in the Oworonshoki
area of Lagos State.
PUNCH Metro learnt that another woman,
identified as Iya Fatimah, her daughter and
one boy, identified only as Basheet, were also
electrocuted, bringing the total mortality
figure to five.
Two vehicles were burnt beyond recognition
in the incident that claimed the five lives.
Our correspondent, who visited the area,
learnt that the incident occurred around 2am
when it was raining.
An eyewitness, who wished to remain
anonymous, said about three other persons
were also injured.
He said, "Around 2am, I was by the balcony
of my house when I saw a wire spark. The
wire then fell on some wood and caught fire.
The fire spread to the tyre of a Toyota car.
"The Toyota car had some jerry cans of petrol
inside it and when the fire got to it, the
vehicle exploded in front of house number
six.
"Some of the occupants of the house, who
were trying to run for their lives, passed the
back of the house and came out through the
front of house number eight."
PUNCH Metro learnt that as the victims were
running away, they mistakenly stepped on
parts of the wire and were electrocuted.
The eyewitness said, "The pregnant woman
(Mrs Ameh) and her daughter were
electrocuted by the wire. However, I quickly
pulled away Jonathan, their son, and he
survived.
"Three other residents, Basheet, Iya Fatimah
and her daughter were also electrocuted."
It was learnt that about an hour later,
electricity officials disconnected power from
the affected lines.
Residents told PUNCH Metro that by the time
rescue officials arrived, rescue efforts had
been concluded.
A landlord on the street, Audu Owosho,
attributed the extent of the damage to the
petrol in the car. He said the street had
become notorious for illegal sale of petrol.
He said, "Unscrupulous elements have turned
this area to a depot of sorts. We have been
warning them to desist from selling petrol
here, but they have refused.
"We reported them to policemen at
Oworonshoki Police Station, but they refused
to do anything about it. If those selling fuel
had been arrested, this calamity would have
been averted."
The councillor in charge of Ward B, which the
area falls under, blamed the Power Holding
Company of Nigeria for the incident.
The councillor, Olayinka Awotubo, said there
was a need for the electricity firm that
recently bought over PHCN to carry out mass
repairs.
"We learnt that the high tension wires had
been showing signs of wear and tear in recent
times. Since PHCN was acquired, the new
company has not carried out massive repairs
on the equipment. I think more should be
done as regards maintenance," he said.
Another tragedy was averted when news
filtered that the pregnant woman's husband,
who was inconsolable, had eaten poison.
Our correspondent observed that the 45-year-
old man, Matthew Ameh, was rushed to
Afolabi Hospital.
Matthew's friend, Harrison, told our
correspondent that Matthew was seen rolling
on the floor clutching his stomach.
When our correspondent visited the hospital,
Matthew was unconscious. The doctor in
charge of the hospital, James Afolabi, told our
correspondent that it was too soon to call it a
case of poisoning.
Afolabi said, "It could have been shock, it is
too soon to call it a case of poisoning. As I
was told, the man just lost his pregnant wife
and daughter.
"When he wakes up and when we have
conducted necessary tests, we will know what
happened."
The General Secretary, Council of Oworonsoki
Youth Forum, Babajide Kabiawu, told our
correspondent that the corpses had been
conveyed to Mainland Hospital, Yaba.
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