Seven Arrested In Connection With Pre-Paid Metre Cloning

The Northwest zonal office of the Special Investigation and Prosecution Taskforce on Electricity Offences have announced the arrest of seven suspects in connection with pre-paid metre cloning, theft, metre vandalism and other related offences in Kaduna State and its environs.

The Zonal Head of the Task Force, ASP Aliyu Bamalli, who paraded the suspects in Kaduna, also disclosed that two other suspects were still at large and that they were being trailed by his men.

Bamalli noted that the arrests followed consistent reports by Kaduna Electric of energy theft, vandalism which had over the years hampered effective service delivery to electricity consumers in the state.

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The Task Force boss gave the list of those arrested to include, Iliya Maigeri, Alex Zamani (the chief cloner), Gambo Saidu (specializes in metre theft), Solomon Luka (Agent), Joseph Stephen (Technician) and Monday Joseph (Agent) as well as Francis Ahmadu.

Bamalli explained that the suspects had succeeded in cloning two metres into 13 metres with same meter number before their arrest by the men of the Task Force.

He added that the suspects were arrested at Barnawa, Kaduna South Local Government Area of the state, noting that “they are still under investigation for necessary prosecution.”

“We arrested the syndicates following diligent investigation and manhunt because we work with Electricity Distribution Companies to safeguard against energy theft,” he said.

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Earlier, the Kaduna Electric’s Head of Marketing, Alhaji Abubakar Jimeta, and his counterpart in Operations, Mr Abu Abass, had said that energy theft has caused the company loss of revenue estimated in millions of Naira.

They, however, assured that the company would continue to do their best in partnership with the Task Force in the provision of improved power supply to electricity consumers in its franchise states.