AEDC Staff, Five Others Arrested Over Alleged Vandalism

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has apprehended six individuals over alleged involvement in the vandalism and theft of a transformer at Tipper Garage, Mpape area of Abuja.

Among the suspects is Raymond Mailabari, who was identified as an employee of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC).

The other five suspects are Kabiru Muhammed, Aliyu Usman, Abdulmalik Alhasassan, Shafi’u Suleiman, and Suleiman Ibrahim.

As reported by the FCT Police Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh, on Friday, the arrest was made possible by the prompt action of the operatives based on credible intelligence.

The suspects were intercepted while attempting to flee with the stolen transformer loaded on a crane truck in Maitama.

The statement said: “The vandalised transformer, a crane truck, a blue-coloured Mercedes Benz with Reg No. PKN 497 XA, a white-coloured J5 bus with Reg No. RBC 228 XC, and an ash-coloured Peugeot 406 car with Reg No. GSN 13 AA belonging to the AEDC staff were all recovered.

“While the investigation is still ongoing, the Commissioner of Police FCT, CP Benneth Igweh, wishes to reiterate his commitment to ensuring the safety of lives and property in the territory.”

Meanwhile, the Abuja Electricity Distribution Plc (AEDC) has been fined N200 million by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) for violating tariff regulations.

Naija News reports that NERC announced this penalty through a statement released on Friday via its official communication channel.

The commission stated that AEDC failed to comply with the tariff guidelines, causing concern among both consumers and industry stakeholders.

After conducting a thorough review and considering customer feedback, NERC discovered that AEDC had applied the new tariff to all customer bands, which goes against the Order’s objective of ensuring fair billing practices.

As a result, NERC has directed AEDC to reimburse customers in Bands B, C, D, and E who were billed above the allowed tariff bands specified in the Order.

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