New apartment, new generator, sudden death

On moving to a new apartment, Funkeebi Moses bought a new generator to beat the drudgery that irregular supply of electricity could occasion. But it was a purchase that resulted in death. SOJI AJIBOLA reports.

WITH less than 72hours in his new apartment, Funkeebi Moses, aged 36, kept a date with destiny, as efforts to revive him after inhaling carbon monoxide, resulting from SUMEC 2900 electricity generating set proved abortive.

The date was Saturday, 7th May 2011, at Akaba community in Yenagoa Local Government Area of the state. Moses from Anglabiri in Sagbama Local Government area of the state just moved to his one room bedroom apartment, not having an inkling that a 72-hour tragedy was lurking around the corner.

The deceased, according to neighbourhood source just installed satellite dish in a bid to connect the rest of the world and start living a better life. Whether he was married as at the time of his death could not be confirmed but it was learnt that a young boy was staying with him.


The newly bought generator was positioned in the kitchen, some centimeters away from both the room and the parlour, and the deceased, it was gathered, fond of putting on the set till early hours of the next day.

One of his neighbours who spoke under the condition of anonymity said, we did not know much about him, as he just moved to the yard. But the first day, he put on the generator, somebody went inside to tell him to reposition the generator. He then assisted him in putting it off.

Similar incident, according to the source repeated itself the following day, but on this fateful day, Moses bowed down to the power of death, as he died before help could reach him. Moses was choked to death after inhaling carbon monoxide.

His body was discovered after a neighbour had gone to his house to collect a hammer he had lent him, but  found out that there was no response from his apartment, despite the fact that the generator was still running. After several knocks on the door, his door was forced open, and he was found dead.

Even with Moses dead body on the bed, the attention of the sympathisers were drawn to the generator that was still running, this made them to assume that he was choked to death by the smoke.

The people in the yard raised the alarm that caught attention of other people before reporting the matter at the nearby police station, though the Police Public Relation Officer could not confirm his death as at the time of filing this report.

The death of Moses brought to three the number of the people that had been killed in this manner in recent time in the state, in spite of the state government warning that people should keep a distance from generating set.


source : tribune.com,ng