Three suspected vandals of the assets of Enugu Electricity Distribution Company were last week apprehended in Akwa-Ukwu, Nnewi, Anambra State by members of vigilante group while attempting to vandalise a 300KVA distribution substation, property of Enugu Electricity Distribution PLC (EEDC) located at Akwa-Ukwu, Nnewi District.
The trio identified as Uchenna Ncheta, an indigene of Ebonyi State; Chinedu Eze, who hails from Ihiala, Anambra State and Chuks Michael, an indigene of Abia State were immediately handed over to the Orba Police Division and subsequently transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Awka, Anambra State for further interrogation and possible prosecution.
Relaying the incident to newsmen in Enugu on Wednesday, the Head, Corporate Communications, EEDC, Emeka Ezeh, expressed worry over the continued attack of EEDC installations in the South-East by some unscrupulous elements; noting that these activities undermine the efforts being made by the company to improve its service quality to customers.
In the course of their interrogation, it was gathered that the trio are suspected to have masterminded the attack on Ibollo 500KVA distribution substation at Oraifite, Anambra State late March, 2021. “Since the beginning of this year, the rate of vandalism across our network has been on the rise, as over 120 distribution substations have been attacked, and items worth millions of Naira vandalised”, Ezeh lamented.
Some of the items usually vandalised includes: armored cables, intermediate cables, feeder pillars units, transformer oil, bare conductors.