The management of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company Plc. has said the underground cable supplying the Oyo State Governor’s Office, Government House, the State Secretariat and Bodija among other areas in Ibadan, have been stolen by some vandals in the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps’ uniforms.
The Chief Operating Officer of the company, John Ayodele, said this in a statement on Monday.
The DisCo said such act had been occurring frequently within its area of coverage and the activities of vandals were beginning to cripple power distribution to its customers.
He said: “On the 29th of June, at night, unknown civilians and armed men cladded in police and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps uniforms, carted away IBEDC 33kV underground cables at Mokola Roundabout in Ibadan, Oyo State.
“The stolen cables feed Agodi Injection Substation where Government House, the State Secretariat, Agodi, and majority of Bodija area and thousands of other urban customers, are serviced.
“This means the economic power and livelihood of these people have been grossly disrupted, as we are incapacitated by the stolen cables to meet the supply demand. This is just one of the various instances of the nefarious activities of vandals within our franchise.
“IBEDC loses over Fifty Million Naira every month to vandals through stolen cables, damaged transformers, and other network infrastructure”, he added.
He also appealed to the IBEDC customers to jealously guard electrical installations within their environments to avoid being plunged into unexpected darkness, as the company could not afford to replace any vandalised installations for now.
“We implore all residents and customers to report any act suspected to be vandalism to the nearest police station, Civil Defence and the Department of State Service. The IBEDC does not operate late nights and all activities that occur after 8:00pm should be suspected and reported accordingly,” he said.