Any death is painful, not least when it involves a child; in this case an innocent child of three. This child, Faiza Mohammed, was electrocuted on Saturday, May 24, 2025 when she stepped on a fallen high tension wire, the property of the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company, EEDC, at Isaiah Morah Close in Awka, Anambra Sate Capital.
According to reports, though conflicting, the wire fell the previous day in the said Close on Friday, May 23. The residents informed officials of the EEDC about it and they demanded the payment of N30, 000 to fix the problem.
But after it had been paid, not one official showed up, until the next day when the unfortunate incident of the electrocution occurred. It was after this that the EEDC officials eventually turned up.
A source from the area said two EEDC officials who spoke on condition of anonymity contradicted each other on the matter after the incident.
The source said, ‘One (official) claimed that the incident was posted on their WhatsApp group and a team was dispatched to immediately respond but they couldn’t locate the place. After allegedly trying their best, they went back to the office.
‘The second official admitted that the issue was posted on their WhatsApp group but that the Imo Awka masquerade festival that took place on Saturday, 23rd May, made it impossible to respond on Saturday.’
But the residents rejected the claims, with one, Mrs Christiana, saying, ‘Isaiah Morah is along the Enugu – Onitsha Federal Highway by Udoka Housing Estate. Without exception, all EEDC customers here are on prepaid meters and we have specific officials servicing this area. Our transformer is one of the ones serving Udoka; how could anyone claim that they could not locate here?’
On the issue of Imo Awka, she described EEDC’s claim as a lie, stating that people were not harassed, and that she even attended a wedding at St Joseph the Worker Chaplaincy, Awka after returning from Eke Awka Market.
‘They’re lying because they murdered this girl with their negligence,’ she stated.
We are not really concerned with the blame game which has become the norm these days in the country when public officials fail to do their duties. We are concerned that public officials display a horrible attitude to work, with everything tied to money. Many public officials today will not perform their duties unless they receive gratification.
For instance, the civil servant will not treat your file unless given a tip; police officers will not help you unless you provide money for fuel or tracking, despite the fact that they receive some of these things from the government; those at the immigration will not handle your matter unless you play ball. Even at hospitals, those perceived to be poor are ignored while the nurses rush to attend to a perceived wealthy person.
In the matter in hand, the EEDC officials were more interested in exacting money from the consumers, even when it is against the regulations, and this attitude led to the electrocution of the innocent child.
We are saddened that this has become a usual narrative, without those involved bearing the consequences for their actions and perhaps, this is why such things keep happening. We are therefore, calling for the prosecution of EEDC over this mishap.
What happened was purely out of dereliction of duty and someone must be held accountable to avert future occurrence. We play with life in this country a lot and there has to be an end to this and those behind it should be ready to bear the consequences.
The little Faiza Mohammed is a 3year old girl who lives with her mother and other people in a house under construction and partly abandoned in the street.
They usually go out to fetch water from other compound and not knowing that the wire on the road had power, the innocent girl went near and was electrocuted. When other children saw what happened, they shouted and the adults who ran out carefully pulled her off, rushing her to Awka Medical Center at Udoka gate but she didn’t make it.
Attempt to reach EEDC officials for response has proved abortive.
