Chinedum Elekwachi
Ebonyi State High Court has sentenced four persons have been to seven years imprisonment for vandalizing property belonging to the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company PLC (EEDC) in Afikpo North Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
Justice Nicholas Nwode of the High Court of Ebonyi State, Afikpo Judicial Division handed down the jail term.
Justice Nwode jailed the defedants – Ikechukwu Esseh, Ikedinachi Uche, Ukpai Godwin, and Uchenna Kalu on three-count charge of conspiracy, vandalism and stealing.
Group Head, Corporate Communications, EEDC, Mr. Emeka Ezeh in a statement said the convicts were arrested on November 28, 2023.
They attacked a 7.5MVA Injection Substation belonging to the power firm located at Education Board Road, Afikpo.
“The presiding Judge, after carefully reviewing all evidences presented before him and considering the high incidence of vandalism and stealing of electrical installations in Afikpo, sentenced the accused.
“The Judge sentenced them to five years imprisonment on count one, seven years on count two, and five years on count three.
Sentences on the three counts run concurrently without option of fine.
Judiciary commended
“The management of EEDC commended the judiciary for the judgement and appealed for speedy trial of other pending matters.
“We commend the judiciary for the judgement, and hope that this will serve as a deterrent to others out there, who may engage in such criminal act.
“The company equally appreciated the efforts of the General Youth President and Afikpo Task Force Team for mobilizing to apprehend these vandals, a clear indication of community support and collaboration in the protection of electricity infrastructure,” he stated.
He decried activities of vandals and their negative impact on the company’s operations and the quality of service delivered to its customers.
Ezeh appealed to customers to support efforts aimed at safeguarding installations in their neighborhood.
“As a result, we continue to commit scarce resources to restore vandalized equipment.
According to him, the company could have channeled such resources to other areas of our operations that will benefit our customers.
“We urge customers to remain vigilant and protect electricity installations in their neighborhoods from vandalism.
“Vandalism inevitably lead to service failure and inconvenience,” he decried.
