Court jails two for assaulting IKEDC official

A Magistrate Court in Badagry has sentenced Suleiman Amusa and his son, Owolabi Amusa, to six month imprisonment for attacking an official of the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company with a machete, while the official was on duty at Agbowa-Itokin Road, on the outskirts of Ikorodu, Lagos.

The conviction was coming on the heels of increased surveillance by security agencies who had pledged to prosecute offenders as well as protect the property of power companies and the workers, following rising cases of assault from restive youths and groups, IKEDC explained in a statement.

In a judgment delivered by the Magistrate, Mr. P.L. Hopeto, at the Badagry Magistrate Court 2 on July 2, 2014 under the charge number IKD/C/24C/2010, both defendants were convicted and sentenced to six months imprisonment with hard labour.

In another development, the firm said three men were almost electrocuted in Ilasamaja on July 7, 2014 while attempting to steal an erected electricity pole along Limca Road, Isolo, Lagos.

The leader of the suspects had been remanded in prison custody at the Kirikiri Prisons awaiting a trial process that set to commence in Lagos while the two others who were affected by electrocution were being treated in an undisclosed hospital.

Meanwhile, IKEDC said it had been receiving support of the law enforcement agencies in Lagos State in its bid to ensure protection from assaults as well as damage to its equipment and installations across its network.

Consequently, a model for increased surveillance and rapid response support was being adopted to ensure protection of the investments and safety of workers in IKEDC and other power companies across the nation, it stated.

In one of its stakeholder engagement meetings with security agencies, IKEDC officials were assured of the support of the Lagos State Police Command.

The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, Mr. Umar Manko, was said to have promised to assist IKEDC by working out strategies to combat vandalism in the state.

He urged all Nigerians to adopt an ownership approach to critical infrastructure by reporting cases of vandalism to relevant security agencies.

During a recent visit to the IKEDC corporate headquarters, the Director of State Security Service, Lagos State Command, Mr. Ben Achu, also pledged to assist IKEDC in combating vandalism within its network, the company said.

The IKEDC Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Abiodun Ajifowobaje, in the statement, commended all security agencies in Lagos, adding that the company would continue to engage community relations to carry its customers along in the process of ensuring equitable power supply.

“We have established various channels for resolving customer queries and we encourage customers to take advantage of our open door policy. We want to put it on record that we appreciate the support of customers who continue to give us the privilege to serve them through ongoing infrastructure upgrade and capacity building initiatives. However, individuals and groups who persist in acts of vandalism and assaulting IKEDC workers will face the full wrath of the law,” he said.

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