PoliceArraignThreeforAllegedly Stealing Electricity from Abuja Disco
The Police in Abuja have arraigned three middle-aged men, Messrs. Yarfado Mohammed, Adewale Joshua, and Kayode Babatunde before an Area Court sitting in Karshi, Abuja Municipal Area Council for allegedly consuming electricity worth 4,040 kilowatts and valued at N108, 952.80 illegally from the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (Disco).
In their submission, the police said the action was an offence according to Section 286 (2) of the Penal Code.
The police informed the presiding Judge, Justice Aliyu Ibrahim, that the defendants bypassed the various electricity meters installed at their residential homes by Abuja Disco, thus denying the Disco revenue from their consumption of electricity supplied to them.
The prosecuting counsel, Mahmud Lawal, alleged that the defendants consumed 2760 kilowatts, 864 kilowatts, and 396 kilowatts respectively in the process, and thereby charged them for electricity theft, an offence he noted was punishable under Section 286 (2) of the Penal Code.
According to Lawal in a statement from the Head of Public Relations and Media of Abuja Disco, Ahmed Shekarau, the First Information Report (FIR) from the police dated February 2, 2017, stated that, “at about 14.00hrs, reports came to us at Jikwoyi Police Station that you, Yarfado Mohammed (M) of Plot 6, Opposite Shopping Plaza, Army Estate Kurudu, Abuja criminally by-passed electricity from the meter and used electricity valued N67,680 dishonestly by avoiding payment through the system; and you Adewale Joshua (M) of Ogoni Figoro Plaza, Angwan Gede, Abuja Municipal
used the same method and used electricity valued at N31,650 dishonestly by avoiding payment through the meter system, and you Kayode Babatunde (M) of the same address dishonestly and criminally bypassed the electricity from the meter and used the same electricity valued at N9,622.80 dishonestly avoiding payment through the meter; you hereby commit the above offence.”
The statement also noted that the defendants through their counsel, Ibolu Augustine, pleaded not guilty to the charges and requested for their bail on liberal terms in accordance with Section 35 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Sections 158, 160, 161, and 162 of the
Administration of Criminal Justice Act. It explained that the judge however granted the defendants bail in the sum of N100, 000 each and two sureties each of who must be of reputable character in like sum and adjourned the case to April 14, 2017 for further hearing.
Also in a related development, the Disco has moved to curtail plans by youths in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital, to protest claims of repeated poor electricity supply to the town. The engagement, it said followed a planned protest by youths for improved power supply in the town. It noted that six of its top officials from the headquarters in Abuja met with the youths at the palace of the paramount ruler of the town, the Maigari of Lokoja, His Royal Majesty (HRM) Alhaji Mohammed Kabir Maikarfi III, and gave reasons for the seeming poor supply which it said was from the national grid.