The Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) has secured the conviction of four individuals involved in vandalising its power installations in Ebonyi State, in what the company describes as a significant step in its fight against energy infrastructure sabotage.
EEDC’s Group Head of Corporate Communications, Mr. Emeka Ezeh, confirmed the development in a statement on Thursday.
According to him, one of the convicts, Chukwuma Onwe, was sentenced on November 12, 2025, to four years imprisonment by Justice John Igboji of the Ebonyi State High Court, Ohaukwu Judicial Division, sitting in Ezzangbo.
Onwe was arraigned on a three-count charge bordering on conspiracy, vandalism, unlawful disconnection of transformer armoured cables, and stealing—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. The court ordered that the sentences run concurrently. Onwe was earlier arrested by the police in September 2023 for vandalising an EEDC transformer at Ntsulakpa, Ezzangbo Community.
In a related judgment delivered on November 7, 2025, the same court sentenced Okefe Stanley, Aleke Kingsley, and Egba Friday to four years imprisonment each for vandalism, unlawful disconnection, destruction, and removal of aluminium conductors belonging to EEDC.
The three men were arrested by the vigilante group of Oshituma Community in Ohaukwu Local Government Area on June 5, 2023. They each received three years for conspiracy and four years for vandalism and stealing, with the terms also running concurrently.
Ezeh commended the judiciary for the decisive judgments and urged faster dispensation of justice in other pending vandalism-related cases.
“We are pleased with these judgements and hope they serve as a deterrent to those 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 also sentenced to seven years imprisonment by Justice Nicholas Nwode for attacking a 7.5MVA injection substation in Afikpo North Local Government Area.
EEDC expressed gratitude to the Nigerian Police and local vigilante groups whose vigilance led to these arrests, stressing the importance of community partnership in protecting electricity infrastructure.
Ezeh decried the heavy toll vandalism takes on the company’s operations, noting that EEDC continues to spend scarce resources on restoring damaged facilities—funds that could have been deployed to improve power supply.
He urged residents to remain vigilant and protect electricity installations within their communities, warning that vandalism ultimately results in prolonged outages and hardship for customers.