They were nabbed over alleged assault on some field officers of the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company PLC (EEDC) while carrying out their legitimate duties.
According to a report by Daily Post, two middle-aged men identified as Chinedu Anama and Uche Okpara have been arrested in Ozalla-Awada, Anambra State by a combined team of the Nigerian Police and the community’s vigilance group.
They were nabbed over alleged assault on some field officers of the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company PLC (EEDC) while carrying out their legitimate duties.
The officials were carrying out monitoring of disconnected customers at Ozalla Awada, part of Ogidi, on Wednesday 25th August, 2021, when they discovered an illegal connection at No. 13 Onyekwere Street, Ozalla Obosi, a building with 12 flats, all installed with prepaid meters.
The Head, Corporate Communications, EEDC, Mr. Emeka Ezeh, who confirmed the arrest, condemned the development, saying that assault of its officials has been one of the challenges the organisation is faced with.
Recounting the incident, Ezeh said that the tenants in the building tampered with their prepaid meters, which led to disconnection of the house by the EEDC surveillance team some months ago.
He said, “The occupants, instead of visiting EEDC office to resolve the issue, resorted to illegally reconnecting themselves and were enjoying electricity supply before the monitoring team working in that area discovered the illegal connection and disconnected them accordingly.
“The team had already left the building to other location when some tenants from the disconnected building accosted them and launched attack on four of them, leaving one of them, Ugochukwu Chukwunyerem, with severe cuts on his head. He was immediately rushed to the hospital for medical attention.
“In the process, two mobile phones belonging to the EEDC officials got lost, while one was damaged. The vehicle used by the team was not spared, as the carrier, door and front bumper were also destroyed.”
“It is baffling that a customer will engage in meter bypass, illegal connection, or any form of energy theft, and when apprehended, would resist disconnection (which is usually the first step in investigating such case), and even go as far as inflicting bodily harm on people carrying out their legitimate function.
“The management of EEDC frowns at these actions and will not hesitate in ensuring that the law takes its course.
“We value our staff, and are concerned about their safety, especially when they are carrying out their lawful duties, and we are ever ready to protect them and prosecute anyone or group that assaults them,” he added.
Ezeh recounted that in August, 2019, two officials of EEDC were assaulted at Umunya, under its Ogidi District, while in March this year, one of its official was attacked by a customer at Umudike, under its Umuahia District, inflicting a serious machete cut on his hand.
“Activities of energy thieves is negatively impacting the revenue of the company and this has a spiral effect on other aspects of its operations.
“It is a source of worry that some customers who have been metered would resort to meter bypass. This is a clear indication that they never had intention of paying their energy bills,” he further stated.
Ezeh confirmed that the culprits have been handed over to the Police for further investigation and possible prosecution, and expressed optimism that Management of EEDC will follow through the matter and ensure they face the full wrath of the law.
“There is no justification for the kind of assault meted on our staff by these suspects, and we hope that this will serve as a deterrent to others”, Ezeh said.
