AEDC: Man electrocuted in Nasarawa not our official

The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) has denied the death of one its officials as a result of electrocution in Nasarawa state.

In a statement on Sunday, Oyebode Fadipe, AEDC’s general manager of corporate communications, said both Mohammed Lawal and Tanko Lawal, who were involved in illegal electrical connection in Keffi, were falsely described as a staff of the company on social media.

Fadipe said Mohammed stopped working for the company in 2016.

Mohammed had invited Lawal to fix an electrical connection at the School of Health, Angwan NEPA area of Keffi, but Lawal was electrocuted in the process.

“The deceased – Tanko Lawal and Mr. Mohammed Lawal who invited him to restore electricity were unauthorized persons who illegally went on the AEDC facility in the compound of the school to do a job for which they lack the required expertise and therefore did not take heed of safety rules that are absolutely necessary before working on any electrical circuit,” Fadipe said.

“The deceased whose name was given as Tanko Lawal was invited by one Mohammed Lawal who up till 2016 was a staff of AEDC to help restore electricity to the school which it lost while students were playing football. The lines feeding the school was without electricity from AEDC as at the time of the incident and that the victim is suspected to have suffered electrocution as a result of back feeding from the generator of the school. Electricity was only restored to the lines about 4pm on the same day if the incident, which was long after the electrocution which occurred about 11am.

“While the death of the deceased is regrettable, the incident has brought back the need to further emphasise the need for unauthorized persons to stay away from electrical equipment since they are ill-equipped to deal with such situations.”