14.7.2026
The charred carcass of a cable thief was evacuated by the police after he was electrocuted while trying to strip a substation of the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) Electricity Plc in Benin City, Edo State.
The unidentified cable thief according to reports, entered the substation with the intent to strip it of power cables on Monday night.
BEDC’s Head of Branding and Corporate Communications, Mrs. Evelyn Gbiwen, said cable thieves had previously invaded the substation on Sunday and made away with several copper cables.
She alleged that the deceased was a member of the group that carried out the earlier theft.
She said the suspect was electrocuted after mistakenly cutting what he believed was an earthing cable, which was actually a neutral cable connected to the power transformer, triggering an electrical explosion.
Gbiwen added that the company received a report from members of the public that a suspected vandal had been electrocuted after allegedly returning to the facility to continue stealing cables.
She appealed to host communities to help protect critical power infrastructure and expressed concern over the growing incidence of vandalism across the company’s franchise states of Edo, Delta, Ondo and Ekiti.
According to her, the destruction of electricity facilities has continued to disrupt power supply and inflict huge financial losses on the company.