The Police on Sunday arrested two persons who allegedly attacked facilities at the premises of Geometric Power and Aba Power Ltd in the Osisioma Industrial Layout, Aba, Abia’s manufacturing hub, and carted away materials worth millions of naira.
The suspects were arrested in Aba by police officers following an intelligence report from Geometric Security Services Ltd.
While speaking with journalists in Aba, the Geometric Chief Security Officer, Air Commodore Nicholas Orjiude, a retired one-star general, gave the name of the culprits as Ikechukwu Umeh, 20 years, 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 is Chibueze Gideon Onyesoh, a 40-year old dealer in metal scraps from Okpuala Avu, Osisioma, Abia State.
They all have already confessed to the crime, though 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.
Umeh and Enogwe confessed that they gained access to the Geometric Power premises by scaling the perimeter fence at the back, said Air Commodore Orjiude.
“We are astonished that Ikechukwu and Umeh and Emmanuel Solomon Enogwe whom we engaged here as labourers could turn out to be unconscionable robbers”, said Orjiude.
“We thought that these young men needed assistance and we engaged them only to realize 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 attack 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.
It is understood that Air Commodore 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 in recent weeks been a spike in the number of attacks on electricity infrastructure in Aba and environs which disrupted power supply to many factories, offices and homes, the air commodore said that the Geometric Power security team is equal to the challenge.
“After all”, he said, “we have made a good number of arrests in recent weeks and the culprits are being tried across the city.
“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 whole nine years of being in limbo as a result of the manner in which the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) was privatized in November, 2013”
