A teenager on Sunday lost his life while attempting to vandalise a Power Holding Company of Nigeria transformer across the flyover near the muslim burial ground, Kpakungu in Minna, the Niger State capital.
The lifeless body of the boy, suspected to be between 17 years and 20 years, wearing a T-shirt that was torn upon a pair of jeans trousers, was discovered right inside the transformer.
The body had already turned black.
The boy, whose mission, our correspondent gathered, was to steal copper from the transformer serving Supreme Water factory and environs, may have died about two days before his lifeless body was discovered by passers’ by.
The offensive odour oozing from the already decomposing body, which had been attracting flies, our correspondent gathered, prompted people in the neighbourhood to conduct a search of where and what could have caused the stench.
The search party, it was gathered, was shocked to behold the lifeless body of a teenager, with a rubber slippers, which he used to pad his two arms, apparently to avoid being electrocuted, as he crawled through the transformer, one of the residents of the area told our correspondent.
Some of the people interviewed in the area recalled how the vandals had made life unbearable for them as it was becoming a routine thing for the transformer to break down every now and then due to the antics of the criminals.
A resident of the area said: “Every day is for the thief but one day is for the house owner.
“They have been coming to steal from the transformer but today God don catch them.”
Vandalizing the transformer cables has become a routine thing, one of the residents said, adding: “It is as if the vandals are targeting our oga because every now and then he will be forced to buy whatever is needed for them to restore light because of his business.”
One of the residents recalled how the owner of the pure water company had on several occasions been made to buy new components anytime the vandals stole some of the components of the transformer.
According to him: “Every now and then our oga in order not to allow his business to suffer will be forced to replace the component whenever the vandals steal it.
“Each time we report to NEPA, they will tell us that they don’t have equipment.”
The Niger State Police Public Relations Officer, Richard Oguche, could not be reached for comments.
People from the surrounding area and passers-by were still trooping in to catch a glimpse of the dead vandal, whose identity could not be ascertained as at the time of filing this report.
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