Seven persons, among whom were said to be students of the Niger Delta University, Yenagoa, have been found dead inside a music studio on Tuesday morning after inhaling what is suspected to be generator fumes.
It was gathered that the music studio along Transformer Road in the Amarata area of Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, was operated by one of the deceased identified as Akpos Barakubo.
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The deceased were said to be working in the studio on Monday night but fell asleep due to exhaustion without putting off the generator resulting in the sad incident.
Our correspondent learnt that six corpses were discovered in the morning and a seventh one who was unconscious was rushed to the hospital but later gave up the ghost.
Security operatives have cordoned off the area while the corpses have been evacuated to the mortuary.
A resident of the area, Damion Asamonye, blamed the federal and state governments as well as the Port Harcourt Power Electricity Distribution Company for their death saying if there was adequate power supply, there would not have been any need for the generator.
Asamonye lamented the situation in Bayelsa State where the electricity distribution company would only bring power when they wanted to collect bills and take it away shortly after customers had paid their bills.
He said, “Both the federal and state governments have failed us. If there was a public power supply, maybe these people wouldn’t have lost their lives in this circumstance.
“Seven able-bodied young men just died like that because of the failure of government. The most annoying thing is that tomorrow, the PHED officials will come with a ladder to disconnect the light that they are not supplying. How can people be spending their money on fuelling generators despite the current hardship in Nigeria even after paying bills?”
Another resident, Joy Reuben, said the neighbourhood woke up on Tuesday morning to witness the tragic incident and called on the state government to ensure that there was adequate power supply in the state so that the citizens would not be allowed to die in such circumstances again.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Musa Muhammed, though promised to find out and call back.
Madukwe B. Nwabuisi is an accomplished journalist renown for his fearless reporting style and extensive expertise in the field. He is an investigative journalist, who has established himself as a kamikaze reporter.
