Nine people have been arrested by the Osun Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) for allegedly tampering with the electricity meters in their homes in order to avoid paying for the energy they used.
This is contained in an explanation gave by the NSCDC Advertising Official, Kehinde Adeleke, on Friday in Osogbo.
According to Adeleke, the suspects were apprehended on Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. in Owode, which is located on Ilesa Road in Osogbo, as part of a joint task force operation conducted by NSCDC and Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC).
Eight of the suspects, he stated, were male, and one was a female.
Adeleke said that the State Commandant of NSCDC, Mr Sunday Agboola, guaranteed that the corps would investigate every possibility in carrying culprits of energy robbery to book.
Additionally, Agboola cited energy theft, vandalism, and other vices as major roadblocks to the country's progress.
“It is not going to be business as usual, as the command is ready to put a stop to this act.
‘’We shall leave no stone unturned in bringing the perpetrators of energy theft to book.
“NSCDC will keep arresting those people to serve as deterrent to those engaging in criminal infractions, such as vandalism, bypass, illegal connection, load diversion and others,” he said.
The commandant urged the general public to cooperate with the corps in protecting the vital national assets in their communities by notifying the nearest NSCDC offices in their areas of vandalism and sabotage.
Agboola said that the suspects had made confessional statements and that they would be prosecuted by a court with the authority to do so.
Additionally, he advised non-IBEDC employees operating under the guise of maintenance to avoid power installations in the state.
