Residents of Anguwan Rogo and Gangare communities in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State have been grappling with a prolonged power outage, which has led to increased criminal activity. The blackout, caused by the tripping of the 330KV circuit transmission lines between Benue and Enugu states, began on Monday and has affected several northern states, including Plateau.
Taking advantage of the darkness, hoodlums have vandalized electrical installations and stolen valuable cables from transformers in the affected areas. The thefts reportedly occurred during the night on Thursday and Friday, leaving residents more distressed and in need of costly repairs to their electrical infrastructure.
Muhammad Munir, a resident of Gangare, described the impact of the theft on his community. “They vandalized the transformer in the midnight and stole some items that would require a huge amount of money to replace,” he explained, expressing the frustration of residents who already face the challenges of living without electricity.
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In Anguwan Rogo, a similar incident occurred as thieves targeted a community transformer. Alhaji Bala Tanko, a community leader, shared the details of the attack. “It is quite unfortunate that some unscrupulous people took advantage of this situation to steal the wires,” he said. “They came in the night while residents were asleep. They had already started vandalizing the transformer and removed some wires. Luckily for us, some residents of the community heard their movement and quickly arrived.”
Despite the quick response from the community, the thieves managed to escape before they could be apprehended. “Unfortunately, before their arrival, the hoodlums fled, abandoning their tools,” Tanko added. He lamented the additional hardships brought by the incident, emphasizing that the blackout had already left residents in a difficult situation. “If not for the blackout, they wouldn’t have come to remove the wires. These people are adding more insult to injury. We have been in darkness for more than six days, and they don’t even care about the difficult situation we are in now. It is very unfortunate.”
Tanko called on residents to remain vigilant to prevent further vandalism of their electrical infrastructure. The affected communities are urging authorities to restore power quickly and improve security to deter further criminal activities during this period of vulnerability.