A mother of three was electrocuted while trying to switch off her family’s refrigerator during a deadly power surge in Katsina State that claimed four lives and injured eight others.
The incident, which occurred Friday evening in the Sabuwar Unguwa community, followed a windstorm that caused two high-tension electricity lines to clash—triggering a surge of abnormal voltage into homes.
Three victims died on the spot—two women and a man—while a fourth passed away later at the hospital. According to Sani Ibrahim, whose wife was among the deceased, she died instantly while trying to disconnect their fridge from power.
Eight other residents, mostly women, sustained serious burns to their hands and backs. Three of them remain hospitalized at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Katsina.
More than 55 refrigerators and other household electronics were destroyed in the surge, raising urgent questions about the safety of Nigeria’s power infrastructure and the preparedness of electricity providers.
Despite the magnitude of the tragedy, the Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO) has not issued an official response. Local officials redirected inquiries to the company’s Kano head office.