Police Arrest Cleric for Electrocution of Five in Rivers
Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt
The Rivers State Police Command has arrested an assistant pastor to a new generation church in the state for the recent tragedy that claimed five lives in Port Harcourt, the state capital.
Five young men were reportedly electrocuted while others were injured trying to mount a billboard with a metal frame at the Obiri-Ikwerre area of Rumuosi community in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state last Monday.
The four men, who sustained injuries in the incident, were immediately rushed to the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH) by passersby who intervened.
It was gathered that a team of nine men was mounting the billboard structure when the metal frame touched live high-tension cable. But five men among the victims lost their lives in the incident and were confirmed dead at the hospital.
THISDAY learned that the victims were private businessmen who were contracted to mount the billboard for a church along the Rumuosi axis, near the Obiri-Ikwerre flyover.
Reacting on the incident, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Grace Iringe-Koko, a Superintendent of Police (SP), said investigation was ongoing to unravel the circumstances surrounding the untimely death of the victims.
Iringe-Koko also told THISDAY that an assistant pastor has been arrested in connection to the incident, but the name of the pastor could not be ascertained as at the time of filing the report.
She said: “Yes, the Command is sympathetic of what really happened and we are investigating.
“They were mounting billboard advert for a church, which resulted to five persons’ death, and one person is in our custody. Investigation is ongoing.”
Meanwhile, officials of the Rivers State Signage and Advertisement Agency (RISAA) have sealed the building where the billboard stands at the electrocution scene in the Obiri-Ikwerre axis of the East-West Road.
The Managing Director of the RISAA, Tony Okeah, told journalists that the nine people, who were electrocuted, were mounting the bill board without approval. He said the victims involved were acting illegally.
“They didn’t have any approval from the agency. We regret what has happened, but this will serve as a deterrent to others. People should learn how to do things the proper way,” he stated.
