By Winnie Onu, Makurdi
A serving Police Inspector and two accomplices were in the early hours of Thursday caught red-handed vandalising electrical cables in the Demekpe vicinity of Makurdi, Benue State capital.
Eyewitnesses said the incident occurred around 4am after a man in his early 50s, identified as Innocent Ishaku, was apprehended by members of the local vigilante group while allegedly tampering with power cables under the cover of darkness.
As the drama unfolded, Ishaku reportedly named his partners in crime to include Isa and Mohammed who initially fled the scene but were eventually smoked out.
It was gathered that both accomplices are well-known residents of a compound belonging to a popular car dealer in the Demekpe axis of Makurdi metropolis.
Meanwhile, in a viral Facebook video capturing the moment of their interrogation, Ishaku who produced a valid police ID (ID No. 309976) identifying him as a serving officer confessed to being transferred from Abuja and working in Benue for the past 10 years.
He chillingly admitted that the gang had successfully looted cables in the Wadata area multiple times until “nemesis caught up with us.”
Among the items recovered were from them are; bundles of electrical cables, F connectors, an official police identity card bearing Ishaku’s name and photograph.
The suspects have since been handed over to the D Division Police Station in Makurdi for further investigation.
Speaking exclusively to reporters, Dr. Adakole Elijah, Head of Corporate Services at Jos Electricity Distribution Company (JEDCO), confirmed the cable theft incident and decried the growing threat of power infrastructure vandalism in the area.
However, efforts to get a response from the Benue State Police Command hit a brick wall, as the newly appointed Police PRO, DSP Udeme Eket, neither responded to calls nor replied to text messages at the time of filing this report.
