A young man identified as Terhide Garfa has allegedly committed suicide by forcing himself into a fenced transformer at the Kanshio community in Makurdi, Benue State.

It was gathered that Garfa’s corpse was found within the fenced transformer at about 3:45 pm on Thursday, May 30, 2024. 

Residents could not ascertain how the deceased gained access to the fenced transformer.

But one Nick said the deceased was earlier heard threatening to kill himself if he did not speak to his mother. 

“Someone said that he heard him (deceased) say that he wanted to speak to his mother or he would kill himself but the person did not know if he was able to speak to his mother or not,” he said. 

“The next is that people saw his lifeless body close to the transformer.”

Speaking to journalists on Friday, the Corporate Affairs Manager of Jos Electricity Distribution Company (JED), Dr Adakole Elijah, described the incident as strange. 

Elijah said that the transformer where the body was found was fenced and he could not fathom the reason behind the deceased’s action. 

“We found it strange that a transformer that was fully fenced, somebody could enter into the place and we don’t know really what happened; whether it was a case of suicide or attempted vandalism,” he said. 

“The pictorial evidence shows that the man forced himself into the transformer. JED has always warned people not to go close to its installations.”

The spokesperson of the State Police Command, SP Catherine Anene, confirmed the incident, adding that an investigation to unravel the circumstances behind the man’s action had already begun.