A popular road in a Lagos community has become totally notorious for taking people's lives brutally through electrocution.
Ikorodu Road
A commercial bus driver, identified as Lukman Agboola, was
electrocuted to death on Friday at the Glasshouse bus stop end of the
Ikorodu Road.
The tragic incident caused serious panic in the area.
According to The Punch, Agboola, who was married with a child, was
said to have finished the day’s work around 8.30pm and was relaxing when
his attention was called to an accident involving a commercial bus and a
private vehicle on the Ikorodu Road.
While attempting to cross the road to the scene of the accident, he
was said to have been electrocuted after coming in contact with an iron
attached to the road’s median.
The death of Agboola generated a protest in the Mile 12 area on
Saturday as bus drivers conveying the corpse for burial in his hometown
in Abeokuta, Ogun State, blocked the road.
Punch Metro reports from a medical practitioner and Director of
Dan’s Medical Centre, Dr Bassey Eton, that Agboola was the 14th person
to be electrocuted at the spot in the past six months.
One of Agboola’s friends, Olabanji Aremu, said the 42-year-old went to the accident scene to assist in rescue efforts.
He said, “Around 8.30pm, a private car and a commercial bus had
a collision on the expressway around Glasshouse bus stop, in the Kosofe
Local Government Area. Four people were injured, including a baby and
her mother.
“Lukman (Agboola) was resting when people told him about the accident. He quickly ran there to see how he could be of help.
“He had crossed the service lane and expressway and was about
scaling the median when he was electrocuted. He was rushed to a hospital
where he died.”
Another friend of Agboola, who identified himself only as Sikiru,
told our correspondent that Agboola was survived by a child, a pregnant
wife and an aged mother.
The widow, Joy, described the death as a big loss to the family.
A resident of the area, Friday Omoseyitan, said a pregnant woman was electrocuted to death at the same spot about a month ago.
“Anytime the streetlights are put on, that spot becomes a
danger zone. Anybody that passes that spot and touches the iron on the
median is dead. We believe that some electrical wires from the
streetlights have contact with the iron. Within the past four months,
seven people have died and they were all strangers,” he added.
The medical practitioner, Eton, however, put the number of
electrocution at 14 in the past six months, saying he witnessed some of
the cases.
He said, “Out of the five people I personally attended to,
three male adults pulled through, while two died. The two – an
unidentified woman and Agboola – were not breathing when they were
brought in. The other three were still breathing, although they were
unconscious.
“The woman’s case happened a month ago. Some sympathisers
brought her and by the time I checked, she was already gone. I called
the Lagos State Ambulance Service, which then redirected us to the State
Environmental Health Monitoring Unit, which eventually came to take the
corpse away.
“The five cases I attended to happened between the months of
July and now. The rest of the 14 victims were taken away by ambulances. I
have kept count of the cases.”
The medical practitioner said efforts to get the government’s attention to the case had been abortive.
The Punch reports that despite the reported death rates at the spot, many unsuspecting commuters still passed the spot.
It was observed that there was no pedestrian bridge between the Ketu and Mile 12 areas.
The Baale of Ayedere community, Asubiaro Shamusideen, said some
electrical wires from the streetlights had connection with the iron on
the median, adding that nobody knew the spot of the connection.
He said, “I use to cross the expressway like every other person
until I heard people were getting electrocuted. I have only heard
about four deaths at that spot since this year started. You are the one
informing me of this man’s death. It is unfortunate, but I don’t think
people can really stop crossing the road.”
The Deputy Head of Communications and Strategy, Ikeja Electric,
Olusola Ayeni, said the streetlights were under the control of the Lagos
State Electricity Board, adding that the firm had nothing to do with
the area.
When contacted, the state Commissioner for Information and
Strategy, Lagos State, Mr. Steve Ayorinde, did not pick his calls and
had yet to respond to a text message sent to him.
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