The High Court in Afikpo North, Ebonyi State, has sentenced four persons to seven years’ imprisonment for vandalising the property of the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC).

The convicts were arrested on November 28, 2023, for attacking a 7.5MVA Injection Substation belonging to the EEDC, located at Education Board Road, Afikpo, in Afikpo North Local Government Area of the State.

They include Ikechukwu Esseh, Ikedinachi Uche, Ukpai Godwin, and Uchenna Kalu.

They were sentenced on three counts: conspiracy, vandalism, and theft.

Justice Nicholas E. Nwode made the pronouncement after carefully reviewing all the evidence presented before him and considering the high incidence of vandalism and theft of electrical installations in Afikpo.

He had sentenced the accused to five years’ imprisonment on count one, seven years’ imprisonment on count two, and five years’ imprisonment on count three, to run concurrently, without the option of a fine.

EEDC’s Head, Corporate Communications, Emeka Ezeh, while reacting to the judgment, commended the judiciary and appealed for the speedy trial of other pending matters.

“We commend the judiciary for the judgment, and hope that this will serve as a deterrent to others out there, who may engage in such criminal act,” he said.

The company equally appreciated the efforts of the General Youth President and Afikpo Task Force Team for mobilising to apprehend the vandals, a clear indication of community support and collaboration in the protection of electricity infrastructure.

Ezeh appealed to customers to support efforts aimed at safeguarding installations in their neighbourhood.

He lamented that the activities of vandals have negatively impacted the company’s operations and the quality of service delivered to its customers.

“As a result, we continue to commit scarce resources to restore vandalised equipment – funds that would ordinarily be channelled to other areas of our operations that will benefit our customers,” Ezeh noted.

He urged customers to remain vigilant and protect electricity installations in their neighbourhoods from vandalism, warning that such incidents inevitably lead to service failure and inconvenience.