Four persons have been for vandalising electrical installations belonging to Enugu Electricity Distribution Company, EEDC, in Ebonyi State.
The Group Head, Corporate Communications of EEDC, Mr. Emeka Ezeh, revealed this in a statement issued on Thursday and made available to newsmen.
According to Ezeh, one of the convicts, Chukwuma Onwe, was on November 12, 2025, sentenced to four years imprisonment by Hon. Justice John Igboji of the Ebonyi State High Court, Ohaukwu Judicial Division, sitting in Ezzangbo.
Onwe had faced a three-count charge bordering on conspiracy, malicious damage, unlawful disconnection of transformer armoured cables, and theft—offences contrary to the Ebonyi State Criminal Code, Cap 33, Laws of Ebonyi State 2009.
He received three years for conspiracy, and four years each for vandalism and stealing, with all sentences to run concurrently.
Ezeh said the convict was arrested by the Police in September 2023 for vandalising an EEDC transformer at Ntsulakpa, Ezzangbo Community.
In a related judgement delivered on November 7, 2025, the same Court also sentenced Okefe Stanley, Aleke Kingsley, and Egba Friday to four years imprisonment each for vandalism, unlawful disconnection, damage, and removal of aluminium conductors belonging to the company.
The trio received three years for conspiracy and four years each for vandalism and stealing, with the terms running concurrently. They were apprehended by the vigilante group of Oshituma Community, Ohaukwu LGA, on June 5, 2023.
Ezeh commended the judiciary for the judgements and called for expedited trial of other pending vandalism cases.
“We are pleased with these judgements and hope they serve as a deterrent to others engaging in such criminal acts,” he said.
He recalled that in August 2025, four vandals — Ikechukwu Esseh, Ikedinachi Uche, Ukpai Godwin, and Uchenna Kalu — were sentenced to seven years imprisonment by Hon. Justice Nicholas E. Nwode for attacking a 7.5MVA Injection Substation at Education Board Road, Afikpo.
EEDC expressed appreciation to the Nigerian Police and the Oshituma community vigilante group for their vigilance and continued support in combating vandalism.
The company noted that such community collaboration is critical for protecting electricity infrastructure.
Ezeh lamented the huge financial burden vandalism places on EEDC, stressing that scarce resources used in restoring damaged installations could have been channelled into improving service delivery.
He urged customers to remain vigilant and protect electricity facilities within their communities, warning that vandalism results in prolonged outages and avoidable inconvenience.
