From Nabob Ogbonna, Abakaliki
Four persons were yesterday sentenced to seven years imprisonment for having vandalized electricity installations in afikpo local government area of Ebonyi state.
Salient Times learnt that the people of Afikpo jurisdiction has for over 12 years, lived without electricity supply.
Justice Nicholas Nwode of Afikpo Judicial Division of the High Court gave this verdict on Wednesday.
The convicts were; Ikechukwu Esseh, Ikedinachi Uche, Ukpai Godwin, and Uchenna Kalu.
They were arraigned before the court on a three-count charge bordering on conspiracy, vandalism, and stealing.
According to the statement issued on Wednesday by Group Head, Corporate Communications, Enugu Electricity Distribution Company Plc, Mr. Emeka Ezeh and was made available to journalists, says the convicts were arrested on November 28, 2023, for attacking a 7.5MVA Injection Substation belonging to the EEDC, located at Education Board Road, Afikpo, in Afikpo North Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
He said they were subsequently charged in court.
The statement said reading parts, “The presiding Judge, after carefully reviewing all evidence presented before him and considering the high incidence of vandalism and stealing of electrical installations in Afikpo, sentenced the accused to five years imprisonment on count one, seven years imprisonment on count two, and five years’ imprisonment on count three, to run concurrently without option of fine.”
Eze said that the management of EEDC has applauded the judiciary for the judgment and appealed for the speedy trial of other pending matters.
“We commend the judiciary for the judgment, and hope that this will serve as a deterrent to others out there, who may engage in such criminal acts,” the statement noted.
The company equally appreciated the efforts of the General Youth President and Afikpo Task Force Team for mobilising to apprehend these vandals, a clear indication of community support and collaboration in the protection of electricity infrastructure.
Ezeh appealed to customers to support efforts aimed at safeguarding installations in their neighbourhood.
He lamented how the activities of vandals have negatively impacted the company’s operations and the quality of service delivered to its customers.
“As a result, we continue to commit scarce resources to restore vandalised equipment – funds that would ordinarily be channeled to other areas of our operations that will benefit our customers,” Ezeh noted.
He urged customers to remain vigilant and protect electricity installations in their neighbourhoods from vandalism, warning that such incidents inevitably lead to service failure and inconvenience.
