By CHARLES IWUOHA

The management of Enugu Electricity Distribution Company PLC (EEDC) has announced the conviction of four persons for their involvement in vandalizing property of the company in Ebonyi State.

The Group Head, Corporate Communications, EEDC, Mr. Emeka Ezeh, disclosed this on Thursday.

One of the convicts, Chukwuma Onwe, was on the 12th of November 2025 sentenced to four years imprisonment by Hon. Justice John Igboji at the High Court of Ebonyi State of Nigeria, Ohaukwu Judicial Division, sitting in Ezzangbo. His conviction followed a three-count charge of conspiracy, damage and unlawful disconnection of transformer armoured cables, and stealing, contrary to the Ebonyi State Criminal Code, Cap 33, Laws of Ebonyi State of Nigeria 2009.

On the conspiracy charge, Onwe received a three-year sentence, while the charges of vandalism and stealing, earned him four years each. All terms are to run concurrently.

According to Ezeh, he was arrested by the Police in September 2023 for vandalizing a transformer belonging to EEDC, at Ntsulakpa, Ezzangbo Community, Ebonyi State.

In a similar development, on the 7th of November 2025, the same Court sentenced Okefe Stanley, Aleke Kingsley, and Egba Friday to four years imprisonment each for vandalism, unlawful disconnection, damage, and removal of aluminium conductors, belonging to EEDC.

The trio were sentenced to three years for conspiracy and four years each for vandalism and stealing, and all terms running concurrently.

Ezeh recounted that they were arrested on 5th June 2023 by the vigilante group of Oshituma Community in Ohaukwu Local Government Area, Ebonyi State.

The management of EEDC commended the judiciary for the judgements and appealed for speedy trial of other pending vandalism-related cases in courts.

?We are pleased with these judgements and hope that they serve as a deterrent to those engaging in such criminal act out there,? Ezeh stated.

?A few months back, precisely in August, in the same Ebonyi State, four vandals - Ikechukwu Esseh, Ikedinachi Uche, Ukpai Godwin, and Uchenna Kalu - were sentenced to seven years imprisonment by Hon. Justice Nicholas E. Nwode for attacking a 7.5MVA Injection Substation belonging to EEDC, at Education Board Road, Afikpo, in Afikpo North Local Government Area of the state.?

EEDC expressed appreciation to the Nigerian Police and the vigilante group of Ohaukwu community for their vigilance and unwavering commitment to combating this menace, noting that this aligns with the company?s long-standing call for community collaboration in safeguarding critical electricity infrastructure.

Ezeh lamented the negative impact of vandalism on the company?s operations, stressing that the company has continued to commit scarce resources to restoring vandalized/damaged equipment ? funds that could have been deployed to enhance service delivery.

He urged customers to remain vigilant and safeguard electricity installations within their neighbourhoods, warning that vandalism inevitably results in service disruptions and inconvenience.

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