Court sentences 4 to prison for vandalising power substation

The High Court of Ebonyi State, sitting in the Afikpo Judicial Division, has sentenced four men to seven years in prison each after finding them guilty on a three-count charge of conspiracy, vandalism, and stealing.

Presided over by Justice Nicholas Nwode, the court convicted Ikechukwu Esseh, Ikedinachi Uche, Ukpai Godwin, and Uchenna Kalu for their role in the November 28, 2023 attack on a 7.5 MVA injection substation owned by the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company Plc (EEDC).

The facility, located on Education Board Road in Afikpo, Afikpo North Local Government Area, was reportedly vandalized during the incident, disrupting electricity supply in the area.

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This development was made known in a press statement released on Wednesday, August 13, 2025 by the Group Head, Corporate Communications, Mr Emeka Ezeh.

According to Ezeh, the presiding judge, after carefully reviewing all evidence presented before him and considering the high incidence of vandalism and stealing of electrical installations in Afikpo, 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 option of fine.

“The management of EEDC commended the judiciary for the judgment and appealed for 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,” the statement read.

“The company equally appreciated the efforts of the General Youth President and Afikpo Task Force Team for mobilising to apprehend these 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 how 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 said.

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.