A 23-year- old scavenger, identified as Saleh, has been arrested for allegedly vandalising a transformer mounted behind the Police Barracks in Kwali, Abuja.
A resident of the area, Benjamin, said the incident happened last Thursday evening around 6:12pm when the suspect, using a knife and plier, cut cables to the transformer.
He said the suspect was busy trying to conceal the cables inside a sack when a passerby sighted him and immediately raised the alarm.
“The man actually vandalised the transformer after he had cut the cables and was trying to put them inside a sack when he was arrested,” he said.
He said it was in the process an alarm was raised which he said attracted the attention of the police who immediately rushed to the scene to arrest the suspect.
A police source, who preferred anonymity, confirmed the arrest of a scavenger, which he said the police are still investigating.
The area manager of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), Joshua Dangana Reena, confirmed the arrest of a suspected cable vandal, saying the suspect has been handed over to the police in Kwali.
He called on members of the public to be always vigilant about activities of some scavengers in their domains, saying they should always report to security agents attempts to vandalise transformers in their areas.