By Halimah Olamide
The police have said that victims who were electrocuted while erecting a billboard in Rivers state acted illegally. The Rivers State Police Command while giving updates on the tragedy on Tuesday, said a pastor of the church that owns the billboard linked to the electrocution of five people in the Rumuosi area of Obiri-Ikwere in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State has been arrested.
The spokesperson for the state Police Command, Grace Iringe-Koko, confirmed the arrest to our correspondent on Tuesday afternoon.
Iringe-Koko, a Superintendent of Police, stated, ” Yes, I can confirm that the Assistant Pastor of the Church has been arrested.
“He is in the custody of the China Police Division as we speak. An investigation is still ongoing. “
Meanwhile, the church on whose behalf the metal billboard was being mounted has been sealed by officials of the Rivers State Signage and Advertising Agency on Tuesday morning.
Also sealed is the billboard stand which is still at the scene of electrocution along the Obiri-Ikwere stretch of the East-West Road, as the two areas have been cordoned off with safety tapes.
Speaking, Managing Director of the RSAA, Dr. Anthony Okeah, sympathised with the victims but said the people electrocuted were mounting the billboard without approval from the agency.
Okeah stated, “They don’t have any approval from the agency. We spend time warning people against illegal activities such as this one.
“We regret what has happened, but please this will serve as a deterrent that people should learn how to do things the proper way.
“The agency regulates where billboard structures would be erected, the sizes, and whether it will cause visual blinds, accidents, and all such consequences.
We go out every day to remove illegal structures because of where they are erected and because of the low standard.”