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A 31-year-old man identified as Mr. Alison Maduaburochukwu, an indigene of Umuayom Village, Awka, has been arraigned for assaulting an official of the Enugu Electricity Distribution PLC (EEDC). He was docked before a Magistrate Court sitting in Awka, Anambra State.
        The Police prosecutor, Sgt. John Ogbonnaya told the Court, in a two-count charge, that the accused person engaged in assault occasioning harm, against the EEDC official while he was carrying out his legitimate duty. He said the offence was punishable under Section 258 of the Criminal Code, Cap 36 Vol. II, Revised Laws of Anambra State of Nigeria, 1991 as amended. Maduaborochukwu was also said to have threatened to kill EEDC officials if they did not leave his compound, an offence punishable under Section 120(b) of the Criminal Code, Cap 36 Vol. II, Revised Laws of Anambra State of Nigeria, 1991 as amended. The suspect, who pleaded not-guilty was, however, granted bail and the case was adjourned to the 8th of October, 2019 for hearing. His arraignment was coming few days after the duo of Nonso Amadi and Chibuzor Okafor, were arraigned before Magistrate Court 3, Ogidi, Idemili North Local Government Area, Anambra State for also assaulting a staff of EEDC in Nkpor, Anambra State, while they were going about their legitimate duties.
        Speaking on the developments, the Head of Communications, EEDC, Mr. Emeka Ezeh, “We are no longer going to tolerate situations where our staff are being assaulted by anyone while carrying out their daily operations, and the Management of EEDC is ready to follow through any such case and ensure we get justice. He went on to recount several occasions where customers released their dogs on staff and situations where they were threatened at gunpoint by indebted customers, insisting that they reconnect them. In some cases, these staff are pulled down from the ladder while they are still on the pole and attacked with harmful objects like knife. We are concerned about the safety and wellbeing of our staff, especially when they are carrying out their lawful duties and we are ever ready to protect them and prosecute anyone or group that assaults them. We commend the Judiciary for the speedy attention given to this matter and are optimistic that this will definitely serve as a deterrent to other people that engage in such act,” he added. Ezeh encouraged customers to always follow the established redress mechanism approved by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), to channel their complaints.