The Taraba State Police Command has confirmed a devastating incident involving the electrocution of a family of four in the Dinyavo area of Jalingo, the state capital.
The tragic incident occurred around 11:00 a.m. on Monday and is believed to have been caused by a power surge.
According to Mr. Abdullahi Usman, the command’s Public Relations Officer, the police were informed of the incident promptly.
He stated, “At about 11:00 a.m. on Monday, we were reliably informed that a house located at Dinyavoh area of Jalingo was on fire. Detectives from GRA Police Division were quickly deployed to the scene and, on arrival, found the four victims with burns suspected to be from electrocution.”
The victims have been identified as Remond Ofonbuk (44 years old), his wife, Mfonbong Remond, their son Hevean Remond (15 years old), and another son, First Remond (13 years old).
Usman explained, “We have received information indicating that immediately power was restored, the transformer serving the area blew up. We learned that many houses within the neighborhood experienced high electric voltage which might have led to the fire outbreak that inflicted burns on the victims.”
Despite the rapid response and evacuation of the victims to the Federal Medical Centre in Jalingo for treatment, they were tragically pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital.
The deceased’s bodies have been taken to the hospital’s mortuary for autopsy, while authorities have initiated an investigation to determine the exact cause of the devastating incident.
