Security agencies should ensure criminals are brought to book
As the nation continues to grapple with persistent power outages and unreliable electricity supply, this most critical sector is currently beset by the twin problems of theft and vandalism of its transformer and power-line cables. Yet, the obvious implication of this unfortunate situation is that most Nigerians will continue to experience darkness in their homes. We hope the establishment of the Nigeria Police Anti-Electricity Vandalism Response Squad (AEVRS) will offer practical solutions to the menace.
According to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, between January and September last year, half a billion naira worth of equipment was lost to vandals in just four states. “On daily basis, wanton destruction of electricity infrastructure is recorded with monumental economic loss to the Nigerian economy. As a result of this deliberate economic sabotage, businesses have been disrupted, means of livelihood destroyed and the quantum loss of much needed government revenue, just to mention but a few”, said Idris who listed 233 cases of vandalism of electricity infrastructure in Abuja, Nasarawa, Kogi and Niger States within the period.
There is no doubt that the incidents of theft and equipment vandalism are really costing the nation huge sums of money. Besides, the immediate consequence of this criminality is that life is made more difficult for law abiding citizens who are thrown into darkness due to erratic and unreliable power supply. Also, the nation’s economy is seriously threatened as industries are being shut down and employees laid off because companies cannot meet production target as many operate below their installed capacity.
While we lament this deplorable situation, we restate our earlier position that the menace of electricity equipment vandals persists because of the existence of some “market” for the stolen items. Obviously no criminal would be foolish enough to take the risk of stealing whole transformers and power-line cables without having an assured off-taker market somewhere ready to buy such equipment. Sometimes these stolen transformers and other equipment turn up for resupply by contractors in the sector. After all, no single individual can afford the purchase and installation of such specialised equipment without the active connivance of the officials.
It is unfortunate that as the nation remains overburdened with the quest for improved and steady power supply, there are unpatriotic elements hell-bent on sabotaging government efforts and throwing their fellow citizens into hardship. It is therefore time that the authorities took serious measures against these criminals. To the extent that what we are dealing with is a serious crime that borders on economic sabotage, the security agencies should be up and doing in apprehending the hoodlums and bringing them to justice.
We also call on the host communities to provide assistance by way of real time intelligence and information to the security agencies whenever they notice these criminalities. Criminals come from within specific communities and when they realise that they would be exposed by their kinsmen they would certainly have a second thought. Community leaders should therefore consider it a patriotic duty to join in the fight against the vandalism of electricity equipment.
However, what is worrying is that the security agencies have a long history of tough words that have been of no effect as the criminally-minded people within our society get more and more emboldened. It is therefore incumbent on all the critical stakeholders to come up with a solution that will work. But as we stated earlier, the communities have to be vigilant by keeping a close eye on equipment within their neighbourhood, even for the sake of their own enlightened self-interest. The bottom-line remains that we must protect these vital assets of the nation from the grip of criminals. It is in everyone’s overall interest.