Some youths of Idung Udofa in Eket local government area have apprehended two suspected vandals of the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution (PHED) company’s assets in the village.
EKET
PHED, in a statement on Wednesday, last week, by its Head of Corporate Communications, John Anonyai, thanked youths of Idung Udofa for taking it upon selves to apprehend the two suspects and hand them to the Police for allegedly vandalizing armoured cables at the company’s substation in Eket.
According to the statement, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of PHED, Dr Henry Ajagbawa, lamented that despite robust public sensitization and customer engagement on the risk to life and economic setback for the company, customers and the general public, vandals’ sabotage on electricity installations continues unabated.
Ajagbawa further observed that customers were also in the unsafe habit of interfering with high tension lines either by cutting trees, trading or erecting structures very close to power lines.
He stated that “PHED discourages such risky behaviours because they can lead to electrocution at the slightest interference. The public is hereby advised to desist from any form of activity around power lines to avoid electrocution.”
Anonayi’s statement further quoted the PHED boss as saying, “A third suspect is at large. Police is on his trail to bring him to justice. We commend the community youths for the basic understanding to protecting public utilities.
“Many electricity assets vandals are in various cells on roll-call to be prosecuted by the courts using extant laws enshrined in the ESPRA Act (2005), Miscellaneous Offences Act and the Nigerian Criminal Code. Those who vandalise public facilities will always be dealt with according to the law.”
He reiterated that “infractions have no place under his watch at PHED as each case would be pursed to logical conclusion using every legal means at our disposable, irrespective of who’s involved.”
PHED Managing Director, Dr Henry Ajagbawa
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