Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) has lauded the 6th Avenue community of Festac Town in Lagos for their efforts in apprehending suspected cable vandals that were caught cutting the cables attached to the 500KVA transformer in their community at 2am on Sunday, July 30, 2023. The two suspects, identified as Mustapha Adam and Emmanuel Kehinde, were subsequently taken to Festac Police station for further investigation.
This was disclosed in a statement by the General Manager, Corporate Communications of the Company, Babatunde Lasaki who thanked the community vigilante for their alertness and swift intervention which forestalled the risk of electrocution and serious damage to the equipment. He further thanked them for allowing the law to take its course as against resorting to self-help.
The Police, upon the completion of the investigation discovered a third suspect who is still at large but assured that efforts are ongoing to bring him to book. Adam and Kehinde were subsequently charged before Magistrate Court 6 in Apapa on a two-count charge bordering on conspiracy and stealing. The two suspects pleaded not guilty to the charge and the Magistrate, Mrs. Y.O. Ekogbulu granted them bail in the sum of N500,000 each with two sureties in like sum with verifiable addresses and tax payments.
The suspects were remanded at the Kirikiri medium facility of the Nigerian Correctional Service pending the perfection of their bail conditions. The case was adjourned to the 14th of August 2023 for mention.
Lasaki further called for more concerted efforts from consumers and the general public towards securing electricity assets in their communities to drastically reduce cases of theft and vandalism that have resulted in avoidable downtime in power supply. He said “we commend the people and the vigilantes of 6th Avenue in Festac for their efforts in securing the electricity assets in their area. They apprehended the suspects and handed them over to the Police for proper investigation. We call on other communities to emulate this great act and help secure the electricity equipment within their vicinities.”
He noted that vandalism is one of the major reasons for service downtime and urged customers to collaborate with the Company in its quest for safe, constant and reliable power supply. He urged them to report suspected cases of vandalism or fraud to whistleblower@ekedp.com, report to the nearest office or Police station.