by crossriverwatch admin
Four youths, Oliver Onyekachi, Tochukwu Chukwu, Sunday Ade and John Eze in Ogoja, northern Cross River State were on Wednesday sentenced to eight years in prison for vandalising Power Holding Company of Nigeria cables.
Justice Emmanuel Ita of the High Court in Ogoja found them guilty of a three count charge brought against the accused for vandalising PHCN cables along Market Road in Ishibori.
In the case between the Commissioner of Police and the four young men, they were accused of conspiring to commit the crime by wilfully vandalising PHCN cables, malicious damage to public property and stealing public property.
Justice Ita found them guilty on each of the charges and sentenced each of them to two years for conspiracy charge, two years for malicious damage and four years for stealing.
He said the sentences are to run concurrently and therefore each of them is to spend the total of four years in the Ogoja prison to “serve as a deterrent to other young men who may be harbouring or planning to hatch such evil venture against infrastructure built with public funds to serve general good”.
The youths who were apprehended in July 2012 by the local vigilante while cutting PHCN cables for sale have been on awaiting trial until Wednesday when judgment was passed against them.
“It has been such an emotional case, one of the convicts, the mother passed on when she heard that her son had been arrested for vandalising PHCN cables”. Adamson, an elder brother to John told crossriverwatch.