A 28-year-old man, identified as Christopher Achi, has been sentenced to two years imprisonment by Justice Choebe Ayua at the Federal High Court 1 Abakaliki, Ebonyi State.

He was jailed for tampering and removal of electric cables, property of Enugu Electricity Distribution PLC (EEDC) at Ihenu Uburu Community, an offence punishable under Section 1(10) Miscellaneous Offences Act Cap M17 LFN 2004.

This development was made known to journalists on Sunday by the Head of Communications, EEDC, Mr. Emeka Ezeh.

Ezeh acknowledged that vandalism was a major challenge hampering EEDC’s operations, “as these vandals usually drain transformer oil, remove feeder pillar unit, intermediate or up-riser cables, transformer winding coil or sometimes even remove the whole transformer.”

“Some other items that are vandalized include spans of aluminum conductors and other line fittings such as Port Insulators and Cross-Arms,” he said.

He recalled that a few weeks ago, some vandals were sentenced for attacking EEDC installations.

“Uchechukwu Maduakor, a native of Ogwu Amanasa Village, Umuchu, Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State, was sentenced to seven years imprisonment, while in May, 2019, the duo of Obasi Nkama Ukpai and Orji Okporie were sentenced to one year, six months imprisonment,” he said.

According to Ezeh, “the management of EEDC is not relenting in her commitment to ensuring that apprehended vandals are tried in accordance with the law and made to face the consequences of their actions.

“We believe that this will serve as a deterrent to many others out there, engaging in such act.

“Customers are, therefore, advised to be vigilant and not allow these installations within their neighborhood vandalized, as they will be inconvenienced once this happens.

“They are also encouraged to make use of the company’s whistle blowing lines (084 700 110; 0814 602 6678) to report any suspicious attempt, report to the EEDC office serving them or to the nearest police station.”