By Johnson Nwankwo
Two male suspects arrested in Enugu for vandalizing a transformer and solar-powered streetlights, respectively, have been arraigned in court, with one jailed and the other remanded.
They were arrested by the Enugu State Police Command’s operatives serving in the New Haven Division.
DSP Daniel Ndukwe, the state command’s public relations officer, stated this on Thursday.
According to him, “The vandalized transformer components and streetlights were recovered from them. The suspects have been separately arraigned in court, with one of them being convicted, and the other remanded.”
It was gathered that on July 16, 2024, around 8.50pm, while on routine patrol along the Powerline area of New Haven, the operatives sighted one Augustine Bajo James, aged 34, of New Artisan, Enugu, dismantling a power transformer inside the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TNC) substation office.
Ndukwe stated that, “The suspect, upon sighting the team, attempted to escape but was promptly arrested. The vandalized parts of the transformer were recovered from the suspect, who confessed to the crime and admitted to committing similar acts of vandalism.”
The suspect, it was learnt, was arraigned in the Enugu North Magistrates’ Court for stealing on Thursday, and remanded in the Correctional Custodial Centre.
Similarly, the same operatives, on July 15, 2024, around 6am, acted on credible information and arrested one Addau Alihu, aged 28, of New Artisan while he was vandalizing solar-powered streetlights along Nza Street, Independence Layout, Enugu.
The police PPRO said, “Two pieces of the already dismantled streetlights were recovered from him. He was arraigned in the Enugu Magistrates’ Court for stealing, on July 17, 2024, convicted, and summarily sentenced to one month community service.”
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, CP Kanayo Uzuegbu, has reiterated the unwavering resolve of the command to sustain the ongoing onslaught against vandals and other criminal elements in Enugu State.
He therefore called on the citizenry to continue to assist the police with credible and actionable information required to make the necessary police operations seamless and less cumbersome.
