Fred Itua, Abuja

Concerned kindred families in Amechi Uwani Awkunanaw Community, Enugu South Local Government Area of Enugu State, have called on the managing director of Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC), to de-energise sub-station and relocate armoured cable installed by an estate company.

According to the letter, signed by their Lawyer Emma Onyibor on behalf of Ozor Joseph Nnaji, Sunday White Nnaji and Okwudili Nnaji, the site supervisor had contracted certain labourers to aid work on their family lands.

The said family land has been a subject of a long-running dispute between a certain private developer, Private Estates International West Africa Ltd.

According to the letter, “the labourers were undertaking manual digging on a section of the drainage being constructed and work was going well on Tuesday the 1st September 2020, when one of the artisans, Yusuf Isah who hails from Katsina State, suddenly struck a heavy armoured cable while digging, instantly erupting into an explosion of some sort.

“His saving grace may have been that the digger had a wooden grip. The entire community may have been thrown into mourning if the digger didn’t have a wooden grip which insulated the said labourer.

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“The incident may have been overlooked, but for the fact that the entire land is currently being partitioned with infrastructure improvements thereon and more digging would be required.

“We believe that the installation may not have been done according to strict EEDC guidelines.

“Considering the potential hazard of the armored cables and especially because of possible leak as a result of the earlier explosion, we pray the management of EEDC to use her good offices to de-energise the entire sub-station and cause the armoured cable to be relocated out of the property.

“We are appealing for an accelerated response to this request as work has since continued on the site and the risk of a recurrence and / or permanent damage to life and property seems imminent.”