An attempt by a suspected cable thief at a critical power facility in one of the Lagos Housing schemes has ended in tragedy, as the suspect was shocked by the electricity facility.
The suspect, Sadiq Danjuma, who said he lives in Igando, came with an accomplice named Yahoo to steal cable at the Lateef Kayode Jakande (LKJ) Gardens, Igando.
The duo scaled the estate’s fence beside the LASU-Iba Expressway into the compound around 2am. After cutting some underground cables, Danjuma went inside the Injection Sub-Station (ISS) to steal some electrical equipment.
There, he met his nemesis as he got injured in the process around 2:30am. His body was riddled with electrical burns.
Sensing danger, Danjuma’s friend, Yahoo, ran away.
Begging for an urgent treatment, Danjuma promised the security officials comprised Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) officers and Mountain Troops personnel, to confess after his treatment.
Writhing in pains, Danjuma said he and Yahoo, conspired to steal and sell the cables to a local scrap dealer named Seriki.
He said: “I came from Igando and Yahoo came from Oko Filling. Our boss gave me N5,000 for the operation and promised to pay the balance of N5,000 after the work.”
He further admitted that the team had previously targeted the same facility, stealing cables which they sold to another buyer known as Akanji at N10,000 per kilogramme.
Meanwhile, residents of LKJ Gardens, yesterday chided the poor handling of the matter by the NSCDC Lagos State Command.
The residents accused the command of shirking its responsibility.
According to the Chairman of Estate, Olajide Andu, NSCDC Lagos State Command insisted that the suspects be treated before handing him over to them.
Andu said: “After treating him, we took him from Igando to corps State Command at Alausa, but we were surprised by their action. We were told to take him to hospital to get a medical report. This infuriated many residents, who lamented that it should be the duty of the NSCDC. We have arrested a cable thief and treated him as demanded. We were surprised the State Command of the NSCDC is asking us to take back to hospital again for a medical report around 5pm. Our men moved from there to a clinic inside the Alausa secretariat, but we were referred to General Hospital, Igando and Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja. As of 8pm, we are still with the suspect driving back to Igando from Alausa. What if his gang members had regrouped and attack us on the way? We are highly disappointed in the manner the NSCDC went about their duty. Their action didn’t encourage victims of these evil guys to want to hand over whoever arrested to them. It seems they are encouraging jungle justice with their behaviour.”
The LKJ residents called on the national body of the NSCDC to probe the actions of the Lagos State Command.
They equally urged the Federal Government to look into the actions of the NSCDC.
