Mrs. Iyabo Bakare had looked forward to August 2, 2010, the day her daughter, Fausat, was to write her Post-University Matriculation Examination with high hope. Her hope was hinged on her belief that Fausat would get admission into the university where she intended to read Accountancy. Although the incident occurred on May 31, as sympathisers came to visit Iyabo on Monday, the visit triggered the emotion that was witnessed on the night Fausat died. Most of the sympathisers said the death of Iyabo, who would have been 19 by December, was avoidable. Fausat, fondly called Mama, was electrocuted on the premises of 1, Adebiyi Close, Alagomeji, Yaba, Lagos State, shortly after returning from the church. An eyewitness, who did not want her name mentioned, told PUNCH METRO that Fausat was electrocuted by illegally connected electricity under a TV antennae pole by one of the occupants of the building said to be illegal structure. She said, “That day, rain fell heavily and everywhere was flooded. As Fausat was wading through the flood, the underground live cable shocked her. Unknown to her, she held on to the TV pole to support herself, and she was flung into the flood with such a terrific force. “Before neighbours could rescue her, she had given up the ghost. When she was eventually rushed to a hospital (Noble Hospital, Olonode), a doctor confirmed she had died before getting to the hospital.” The eyewitness said the incident angered the neighbours, who pounced on the apartment and vandalised it. One of the occupants of the building, who was accused of the illegal electricity connection (name withheld), reportedly went to the police station to lodge a complaint that the property was vandalised. ”When the police came and found out true situation of things, they had to detain the suspect for illegal connection of electricity,” she said. Speaking amid tears, Iyabo said Fausat‘s demise dealt a devastating blow to the family. She corroborated the eyewitness‘ account and added that on the fateful day, the deceased with her other siblings, having returned from church, said they wanted to eat bread and tea. She said Fausat went in company with other children in the neighbourhood to buy the items. She recalled that as they were wading through the flood, she almost fell and had to ignorantly hold on to the antennae pole to support herself, not knowing that there was a live-wire running under the pole. She said, ”As my daughter and those who accompanied her to buy the items were wading through the flood, she held to the pole for support and was immediately electrocuted. ”Ordinarily, people would think that the pole was just a TV antennae, but this was not so. There was an underground wire, which had been illegally connected. I think the man put the antennae probably to deceive the officials of the PHCN.” Narrating the qualities of Fausat, Iyabo said she was beautiful, brilliant, intelligent, hard working and respectful, adding that the family had lost a jewel of an inestimable value. She appealed to the Lagos State Government and the Yaba Local Council Development Area not to allow her daughter die in vain, saying that she wanted the illegal structure to be demolished and the underground cable removed so that other innocent people would not fall victims again. When our correspondent visited the scene of electrocution, he observed that the entire building had been deserted. Also, the underground cable had been removed, while the alleged culprit was said to have bolted. It was also observed that a sealing notice had been pasted on the building from a Customary Court in Yaba indicating that the building would be demolished soon. | |||
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