A tragic incident occurred on Isaiah Morah Close in Awka, the capital of Anambra State, when a three-year-old girl was electrocuted by a fallen high-tension cable reportedly belonging to the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC).
The cable, which fell the previous day, had remained unattended despite residents’ efforts to have it fixed. The young girl, unaware the cable was live, accidentally stepped on it while returning home and was fatally electrocuted.
Residents told journalists on Monday that they had contacted EEDC immediately after the cable collapsed, and were allegedly asked to pay N30,000 for repairs. Despite making the payment, the officials reportedly failed to show up until two days later—after the fatal incident had occurred.
A resident identified as Uche said, “The cable fell on Friday and wasn’t fixed until Sunday, after the child had already died. The incident had been shared in our WhatsApp group, and though a team from the power company was dispatched, they couldn’t locate the spot and returned to the office.”
The child lived with her mother and others in a partly abandoned building on the street. According to witnesses, she had gone to fetch water from a nearby compound and was on her way back when she came into contact with the live cable. Onlookers, mostly children, raised the alarm, prompting adults to rush to the scene. The child was carefully pulled away and taken to Awka Medical Centre at Udoka Gate, but she was pronounced dead on arrival.
When contacted for comment, the Anambra State Police Command spokesperson, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, said there had been no official report of the incident. Similarly, EEDC’s Communication Manager, Emeka Ezeh, stated that he was not yet aware of the case and would need to make inquiries.
The incident has left the community in mourning and raised fresh concerns over the responsiveness of service providers and the safety of public infrastructure.
ADEOLA KUNLE
