Court Jails Four For Vandalising EEDC Facilities in Ebonyi

The Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) has confirmed the conviction of four individuals involved in the vandalism of its electricity infrastructure in Ebonyi State.

In a statement on Thursday, the company’s Group Head, Corporate Communications, Emeka Ezeh, said 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 sitting in Ezzangbo, Ohaukwu Judicial Division.

Onwe was arraigned on a three-count charge of conspiracy, vandalism, unlawful disconnection of transformer armoured cables, and stealing, 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, with the terms to run concurrently. He was arrested in September 2023 for vandalising an EEDC transformer at Ntsulakpa, Ezzangbo community.

Ezeh also disclosed that the same court, on November 7, 2025, sentenced Okefe Stanley, Aleke Kingsley, and Egba Friday to four years’ imprisonment each on similar charges of conspiracy, vandalism, unlawful disconnection, damage, and removal of aluminium conductors belonging to EEDC. They were apprehended by the Oshituma community vigilante group on June 5, 2023.

According to him, the management of EEDC commended the judiciary for its speedy dispensation of justice, noting that the rulings would help deter further attacks on power infrastructure.

He recalled that in August, four other vandals, Ikechukwu Esseh, Ikedinachi Uche, Ukpai Godwin, and Uchenna Kalu, were handed a seven-year jail term by Justice Nicholas Nwode for attacking a 7.5MVA injection substation at Education Board Road, Afikpo, in Afikpo North Local Government Area.

Ezeh expressed appreciation to the Police and community vigilantes in Ohaukwu and Afikpo for their vigilance and support in combating vandalism.

He lamented the financial strain caused by repeated damage to the company’s facilities, stressing that funds spent on replacement of vandalised equipment could have been channelled into improved service delivery.

The EEDC spokesman urged residents to remain vigilant and protect electricity installations within their communities, warning that vandalism leads to prolonged outages and widespread inconvenience.