Tragedy was averted in Lagos on Friday when an unidentified man mounted an electricity transmission tower.
The incident occurred at Powerline Street, Calvary Bus Stop in Egbe-Idimu Local Council Development Area.
Punch gathered that the man wandered around the vicinity in the early hours of the day before stopping at the foot of the tower at about 2pm.
Eyewitnesses said he removed some totems tied to the tower by a vigilance group and mounted it to
the top despite warnings from residents and passers-by.
A resident, Mr. Kazeem Oyebola, who said the man did not look like a mentally challenged person, added that his responses showed he was on a suicide mission.
He stated:
“He was not mad at all. He was coherent when he talked except for some vague statements he made. He had a mission and it was to kill himself for some unknown reasons.”
Also, a yam seller in the area who identified herself as Iya Bose said she was scared when the man in his late thirties climbed the tower.
Another resident, identified as Odunayo, who sells alcoholic drinks in the area, said the man covered himself with a wrapper.
She added that many felt the tower climber wanted cheap publicity or had an intention to “carry out a diabolical assignment particularly as he wore red knickers.”
The incident attracted a crowd and some of them had to climb the tower to see if they could get him down.
A community leader in the area, Mr. Alao Salami, said when he sensed that the man was not ready to disembark from the tower after about three hours he had to alert the police at the Idimu Police Station.
An official with an electricity distribution firm who did not want his name in print told SUNDAY PUNCH that the only way the man could have survived electrocution was because there was no electricity in the wires.
When their correspondent visited Idimu Police Divisional Headquarters, the Divisional Police Officer, Mr. James Sonekan, refused to comment on the matter.
He said he was not authorised to make an official statement on the matter.
