The High Court of Ebonyi State, Afikpo Judicial Division, has sentenced four men to seven years in prison for vandalising a power installation belonging to the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC).
Justice Nicholas Nwode handed down the sentence to Ikechukwu Esseh, Ikedinachi Uche, Ukpai Godwin, and Uchenna Kalu after finding them guilty on a three-count charge of conspiracy, vandalism, and stealing.
According to a statement issued on Wednesday by EEDC’s Group Head of Corporate Communications, Mr. Emeka Ezeh, the convicts were apprehended on November 28, 2023, while attacking a 7.5MVA Injection Substation on Education Board Road, Afikpo, in Afikpo North Local Government Area.
The statement said, “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.
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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.