The two persons who on Sunday night allegedly attacked the facilities of Geometric Power and Aba Power Limited in the Osisioma Industrial Layout, Aba, Abia State, and carted away materials worth millions of Naira have been nabbed.
Geometric’s Chief Security Officer, Air Commodore Nicholas Orjiude (rtd.), told media professionals in Aba that the suspects were captured on Monday morning in Aba by police officers following an intelligence report from Geometric Security Services Limited.
According to the company, the suspects are 20-year-old Ikechukwu Umeh from Amaekwuru in Ezinifite Local Government Area of Anambra State, and Samuel Sunday Enogwe, 18, from Umuika in Isiala Ngwa Local Government Area of Abia State.
Also arrested was Chibueze Gideon Onyesoh, a 40-year old dealer in metal scraps, who hails from Okpuala Avu, Osisioma, Abia State.
They all have reportedly confessed to the crime, athough Onyesoh, a graduate of a higher institution, claimed not to be aware that the materials which comprised, among others, metal scaffolds and glass blocks were stolen.
According to Orjiude. Umeh and Enogwe confessed that they gained access to the Geometric Power premises by scaling the perimeter fence at the back.
“We are astonished that those we engaged here as labourers could turn out to be unconscionable robbers”, Orjiude lamented.
“We thought that these young men needed assistance and we engaged them only to realise that they were actually surveying the environment with a view to striking at the right time”.
Orjiude told journalists that it would be difficult for those who attacked his company’s facilities to stay long without being caught because of the caliber of persons running security services at both Geometric Power and Aba Power. Orjiude’s deputy, Regius Amaechi was a top operative at the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps before joining Geometric Security Services.
“We have other tested and highly capable security operatives trained in different services”, noted Orjiude.
Admitting that there has been a spike in the number of attacks on electricity infrastructure in Aba and environs in recent weeks, which disrupted power supply to many factories, offices and homes, the retired Air Force chief said that the Geometric Power security team is equal to the challenge.
“After all, we have made a good number of arrests in recent weeks and the culprits are being tried across the city”, he said.
Geometric Power took charge of the Aba Electricity Ring Fence which consists of nine out of the 17 local government areas in Abia State only last February, after a nine years of being in limbo as a result of the manner in which the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) was privatised in November 2013.
