WorldStage Newsonline— Management of Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHEDC) has confirmed the arrest of four suspected cable vandals in Eket Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom.
Mr John Onyi, PHEDC’s Manager, Corporate Communications who disclosed this on in Eket on Wednesday said that members of the neighbourhood vigilance group in the locality arrested the suspects.
He said that the suspects were arrested as they tried to steal the company’s installed armoured cables
on May 4, adding that the Eket Divisional Police Headquarters had taken over the case.
Onyi, who decried the spate of transformer vandalism in Eket, commended the vigilance group for the good work.
He said that 13 armoured cables had been vandalised in Eket and Ikot Abasi Local Government Areas of the state in the last two months.
He attributed the epileptic power supply in the area to vandalism of sub-stations in Eket and its environs and solicited the cooperation of the community in providing security for PHEDC’s facilities.
“There is nothing PHEDC’s management can do. The community should beef up security around the PHEDC facilities to avoid vandalism of the equipment.
“We will write to the Police, State Security Service, Commissioner of Police, telling them that it is the duty of the community to protect their facilities against vandalism.”
He advised that every community should have a chairman whose responsibility should be to take care of PHEDC’s facilities as was done in some states.
When contacted, Mr Bello Zaurah, the DPO, Eket Divisional Police Station, confirmed the arrest, saying that the culprits were being prosecuted.(NAN)
