A commercial motorcyclist (known locally ‘okada rider’) was reportedly electrocuted Thursday morning around Civil Service Commission area on Old Otukpo Road, Makurdi, the Benue State capital.
The motorcyclist, said to be conveying a lady passenger to her destination, is reported to have attempted to cross a high tension wire which was dangling from a falling electricity pole along the Old Otukpo dual carriage road when the incident happened.
The high tension wire which, according to eye witnesses, still had current running through it at the time of the incident, was hanging across the road from an electricity pole that had fallen as a result of the heavy rainfall on Wednesday night.
The commercial motorcyclist, oblivious of the danger ahead, tried to ride his motorcycle through the damaged wire when suddenly a part of his motorcycle touched the naked wire he immediately got electrocuted and burnt almost beyond recognition.
“We tried warning him against crossing the wire but he didn’t hear us.
Apparently, he didn’t know why we were asking him not to pass the area and he probably didn’t see the naked wire. The lady he was conveying saw the danger and quickly jumped off the bike,” a member of the community who simply identified himself as Timothy stated.
At the time of filing this report, the remains of the deceased had been moved to the morgue, while officials of Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) and the Police were at the scene to control traffic and ensure nobody else falls victim.
Public Relations Officer (PRO) of NSCDC, an Assistant Superintendent of Corps I, Adakola Peters, who confirmed the report, said that as soon as the deceased touched the naked wire he got completed burned and died instantly.
The police spokesman disclosed further that officials of the Jos Electricity Distribution Company (JED) were already on ground to repair the damaged pole and high tension wire, while NSCDC officials as well as other support agencies were on ground to control traffic in the area.