Yemisi Izuora
The Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC), in line with its ongoing fight against vandalism and equipment theft, has pledged to combat the menace and ensure offenders face the full extent of the law.
This came on the back of the apprehension and arraignment of Auta Simon for stealing armoured cables on Creek Road, Apapa, Lagos.
In the same vein, one Jimoh Yesu has been arraigned before the Magistrate Court 2 in Badagry following his arrest while attempting to move a stolen aluminium conductor in the Akpator community around Seme Border in Badagry, Lagos State.
Auta, whose accomplice identified as Samson Zakari, is currently at large was charged with vandalism and stealing, pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to two years imprisonment at the Apapa Magistrate Court while the suspect at large is still being wanted by the men of the Nigerian Police Force.
Yesu, on the other hand, has been admitted to bail and is cooling off at the Badagry facility of the Nigerian Correctional Centre pending the perfection of his bail conditions.
This was revealed in a statement signed by the General Manager, Corporate Communications of EKEDC, Babatunde Lasaki who noted that vandalism and theft of electricity equipment are the leading causes of power outages and the inability to supply uninterrupted power to customers.
He said, “While we commit huge sums of money to purchase standard equipment to improve our infrastructure and provide our customers with stable, reliable and constant electricity, some unscrupulous members of the society go about digging out our cables, removing vital parts of transformers and other equipment for their self-gains, causing outages in our franchise areas.
This act makes us spend huge amounts replacing the stolen equipment instead of dedicating that to expanding our network and meeting more demands. It is rather appalling that we have these selfish people around us going against the good of the collective.”
The EKEDC has also extended its gratitude to law enforcement agencies, stakeholders, and members of the public for their cooperation and support in combating vandalism and equipment theft.
The company reaffirms its commitment to working closely with relevant authorities to prevent future occurrences and maintain the integrity of its infrastructure.