* Reportedly yelled ‘Oh Jesus’ before dying
A man has been electrocuted while allegedly stealing electrical appliances from a church in Aba, Abia State.
Locals said the deceased was a street urchin called Bouncer.
Bouncer was reportedly electrocuted on Saturday at St. Luke’s Anglican Church in Eziukwu-Asa-Okpuaja area of the city. His body was said to have been found on Sunday morning.
He was alleged to have been heard shouting “oh Jesus”, when the high voltage power struck him.
The worshippers said the deceased jumped into the church premises through the back fence and was cutting the electric wire, after dismantling other equipment before power was restored and he was electrocuted.
One of the worshippers said: “This church has recorded several stealing cases in recent times. The thieves have made a mess of the house of God with their stealing technique. We have been living at the mercy of God. Nothing is safe here. Not even the roofing sheets.
“The church lost newly fixed zincs with value worth millions, we’ve lost too many plastic chairs and seats valued hundreds of thousands of naira. “The last one that happened that shocked everyone was a very big goat which was used by a church member for thanksgiving and the goat which was valued 150k was tied up in the church compound and was stolen the next day.
“Can you imagine the guts? From what we discovered, the thief pulled down some blocks while jumping into the church compound to do his thing. I’m not happy about his death. I would have loved if he was alive to repent, but this should be a lesson to others out there.”
Another worshipper claimed that he heard about midnight on Saturday when the incident occurred was the voice of someone who shouted “Oh Jesus”, but never knew it was the voice of the thief until his body was discovered at dawn of Sunday.
“When we got there this morning (Sunday), we saw him electrocuted with the wire on his hands. The loud voice of ‘oh Jesus’ from him was heard last I hear from him. “His corpse was discovered this morning (Sunday) and had been reported at the Central Police Station, Aba.
It is really a pity. People need to stop doing evil.”
Spokesman of the Abia State Police Command, Geoffrey Ogbonna, confirmed the incident, adding that although the corpse was yet to be identified, it has been deposited in the mortuary.