Power supply to Igando, a bustling
community located in Alimosho local government area of Lagos State, South-West,
Nigeria has been severely compromised, following a wave of vandalism of
electrical installations belonging to Ikeja Electric plc.
The criminal activities, which has
currently plunged over 6,000 households and businesses located in and around
Igando into darkness, have largely targeted transformers where single core and
up-riser cables worth millions of naira were carted away.
Head, Corporate Communications for
Ikeja Electric Plc, Felix Ofulue, decried the development, noting that the
increase in the vandalism of the company’s assets had become quite alarming and
is depriving legitimate customers of their right to steady power supply.
“In the past two week, over 24
transformers were vandalized in Igando, leaving our customers in total darkness
and this is quite worrisome considering the discomfort and economic loss to
this community. It is quite troubling and intolerable because innocent
customers are suffering,” he said.
Ofulue noted that the cost of replacing
the stolen assets was huge and would take some time to restore. He further
called on community leaders, youth associations and security agencies to make
improved efforts to ensure that electrical assets within their communities were
protected.
While explaining that the company is
partnering with security agencies to track the vandals, he also encouraged
vigilant members of the community to report suspected vandals to the
appropriate authorities or to Ikeja Electric for prompt action.
“These vandals sometimes operate from
within the community. They keep the stolen assets somewhere. They sell to
someone. It is possible that one or two people may see something, so we are
calling on these vigilant and patriotic members of the community to speak up,
so we can nip this in the bud.
Don’t forget that as a business, it is
counter-productive to keep replacing assets in a particular location, spending
our limited resources, when we could be expanding the network and improving
supply in another”, Ofulue concluded.
He further warned that collaborators in
the crime when caught would face the full extent of the law. He pointed out
that Section 1(9) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act provided a stiff
punishment, up to life imprisonment, for offenders who unlawfully disconnect,
remove, damage, tamper or meddle with or in any way whatsoever interferes with
any plant, works, cables, wire or assembly of wires designed or used for
transforming or converting electricity shall be guilty of an offence.
Only
recently, thirty-year-old Ahmed Umar was sentenced to six months in prison at a
Lagos Magistrates’ Court, Ogudu, for vandalizing a transformer belonging to
Ikeja Electric. He was alleged to have stolen a copper wire valued N100,000
from a 500KVA transformer located at Olutunfese sub-station, by Demurin Street
in Ketu, Alapere.
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