A 24-year-old-man, identified as Idris Ibrahiim has been sentenced to two (2) years imprisonment.
He was jailed by his Worship, Ojinnaka C of a Magistrate Court, sitting in Imo State, for vandalizing a distribution substation belonging to the Enugu Electricity Distribution PLC (EEDC), situated at Imo Housing, World Bank Estate, Owerri, Imo State and stealing electrical armoured cable.
The offence is said to be punishable under section 390(9) of the Criminal Code CAP ‘C38’, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, as applicable in Imo State.
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Idris, who pleaded guilty to the charge, was apprehended on 16th March 2022, by the residents of Imo Housing, World Bank Estate and subsequently handed over to the New Owerri Police Station, along with the vandalized armoured cable.
Speaking on this development in a press statement, the Head of Corporate Communications, EEDC, Mr Emeka Ezeh hailed the judgement.
He recalled that just last month, a 22-year-old-man, identified as Ifeanyi Ugwu was sentenced to three (3) years imprisonment by Hon. Justice H.A. Nganjiwa, at the Federal High Court 1, Awka, Anambra State, for vandalizing Aniawonwa 300KVA Transformer, located at Eziama Village, Ojoto, Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State.
Ezeh commended the effort of the residents who apprehended the vandal, stating that “their action goes to show that all the appeal made by the EEDC for customer involvement in protecting electrical installations within their neighbourhood is not falling on deaf ears, but was yielding the desired result.”
According to him, “the activities of vandals have remained a big challenge to the company.
“This situation continues to subject our customers to untold hardship and inconveniences, keeping them out of supply for a long time till the vandalized transformer is repaired and supply restored”.
He went further to state that as a result of activities of vandals, the company had consistently committed scarce resources to the replacement of vandalized equipment, a situation he described as no longer sustainable.
“While commending the judiciary for this judgement, he hoped that the sentence “will serve as a deterrent to other individuals engaging in such criminal act”.
Ezeh reiterated the importance of customers being more vigilant, especially now that the energy sector was experiencing a drop in the quantum of power generated, a situation that had resulted in load shedding and reduction in availability.
“We are calling on customers to join hands with us to ensure that the electrical installations within their vicinity are not attacked by vandals,” he pleaded.
