Kehinde Fajobi
Hoodlums have taken advantage of a prolonged power outage to vandalise electrical installations and steal cables in the Anguwan and Gangare communities in Jos North, Plateau State.
The blackout, which began on Monday due to a fault in the 330KV transmission line between Benue and Enugu states, has affected several northern regions, including Plateau State.
Residents reported the thefts to Daily Trust, describing how the lack of electricity created a cover for these incidents on Thursday and Friday nights. Muhammad Munir, a resident of Gangare, said that his community’s transformer was targeted.
“They vandalised the transformer in the midnight and stole some items that would require a huge amount of money to replace,” he said.
Alhaji Bala Tanko, a leader in Anguwan Rogo, explained that the theft occurred around 10 p.m. when many were asleep.
“It is quite unfortunate that some unscrupulous people took advantage of this situation to steal the wires,” he said. “They came in the night while residents were asleep. They had already started vandalising the transformer and removed some wires. Luckily for us, some residents of the community heard their movement and quickly arrived.”
Tanko added that the vandals fled, leaving their tools behind. “If not for the blackout, they wouldn’t have come to remove the wires. These people are adding more insult to injury. We have been in darkness for more than six days and they don’t even care about the difficult situation we are in now. It is very unfortunate,” he said.
Tanko urged community members to stay vigilant to prevent further damage to the transformers.