A suspected transformer vandal has died following severe beaten by a mob in Cross State.
The deceased was caught vandalizing the electricity infrastructure after which residents pounced on him, beating him to a pulp and thereafter died.
The mob, during the incident which happened at Mayne Avenue in Calabar South Local Government, described the act as a fresh attempt to vandalise electricity infrastructure in the neighbourhood following other cases which they made complain of.
Residents of Mayne Avenue, Palm Street and adjoining areas have experienced repeated power outages in recent months, which they blamed on persistent vandalisation of transformers and underground cables.
An eye witness, Amos Akpan, said that residents had recently contributed money to replace stolen components from a vandalised transformer, only for another part to be removed again earlier this week.
“Thief usually disturb this place too much, so it was very annoying and we caught him”.
Akpan alleged that the deceased was part of a syndicate known for cable theft and transformer vandalisation within the area, adding that prolonged blackouts had continued to disrupt businesses and daily activities.
Police operatives later arrived at the scene and evacuated the corpse.
Confirming the incident, the Cross River State Police Public Relations Officer, Eitiokpa Sunday said the command was aware of the development and had commenced investigations, assuring that further details would be made public in due course.
He said “We are aware of it, very soon I will send the details to you”.
