Lawrence Okeke, an ex-employee of Enugu Electricity Distribution Company Plc (EEDC), has been apprehended by police in Onitsha, Anambra State, for allegedly bypassing and tampering with prepaid metres for EEDC customers in the commercial city of Onitsha.
Emeka Ezeh, EEDC’s Head of Corporate Communications, said in a press statement on Thursday that the suspect was apprehended by EEDC’s Metre Monitoring Unit on Bida Road in Onitdha and handed over to men from the Central Police Division (CPS), Onitsha.
Ezeh went on to say that the suspect specialised in replacing original metre censors with fake ones, thereby bypassing the metres and preventing them from recording customers’ actual consumption.
Ezeh, who lamented that this development has hurt the distribution company’s revenue, stated that the suspect was apprehended as a result of a whistleblower report, which compelled the company’s Metre Monitoring Team to deploy some staff to some locations for a routine metre inspection.
The statement read, in part, “The suspect specialises in the replacement of original metre sensors with fake ones, thereby bypassing the metres and causing them to fail to record actual customer consumption.”
“This development has hurt the distribution company’s revenues.
“Following a whistleblower’s report, the company’s Metre Monitoring Team was deployed to some locations for routine metre monitoring inspections. At one of the customer’s premises on Bida Road in Onitsha, they discovered that the metre had been bypassed, with the original metre sensor removed and replaced with a fake one.
“While the team interrogated the customer, who had already admitted their findings, the customer revealed the identity and contact information for the individual who performed the bypass, Lawrence Okeke, an ex-EEDC employee.
“Okeke was immediately tracked down, arrested, and handed over to the Central Police Station in Onitsha, where he is currently assisting the police in their investigation.”
According to Ezeh, the suspect, from Adogba Village in Enugu State’s Awgu Local Government Area, was terminated from EEDC in December 2020 for gross misconduct.
“The team’s arrest of the suspect represents a significant step forward in the organisation’s fight against metre bypass and energy theft.
“It is believed that by the time the investigation is completed, many of the atrocities committed by individuals such as Lawrence in our network will have been revealed,” Ezeh stated.
He also warned customers who engage in metre bypass to stop doing so because the company has increased its prepaid metre monitoring activities, and anyone caught will face the consequences.
He also warned customers about the activities of some ex-EEDC employees who continue to parade the network as if they are still employed by the company while extorting unsuspecting customers and engaging in criminal and illegal activities that undermine the organisation’s efforts to provide quality services to its valued customers.
“Customers should always be mindful of who they are engaging as EEDC staff and be certain of their identity, as many people out there carrying out illegal activities while masquerading as EEDC staff are not employed by the company,” he warned.
While commending the whistleblower for providing the information that led to Lawrence’s arrest, Ezeh also urged customers to report any suspected cases of metre bypass and energy theft through the company’s whistleblower platforms (08146026678 or ethics@enugudisco.com) or other channels, knowing that their identities would be protected.
When contacted, Anambra State police spokesman SP Tochukwu Ikenga confirmed the arrest to reporters over the phone yesterday, adding that the suspect is in police custody while the investigation is ongoing.
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