4 Grabbed for tampering with ECG meter

A chinese and three others have been arrested for tampering with a meter belonging to the Electricity Company of Ghana.

According to the ECG, the cost of the loss of power as a result of the tampering is GH¢77,878.46. The four suspects are Wisdom Sewlonu, Ernest Afatsawu, Runlian Shan and Ali Yakubu.

Sewlonu is a foreman of Nyame Aye Bi Company, which was engaged by the ECG to install meters on its behalf and Afatsawu, agent of the company.

Shan is the Manager of Runlian Manufacturing Company located at Oblogo near Weija, and Yakubu, Sales Manager of the firm.

Illegality

The Director of Investigations, Prosecutions and Security of the ECG, Paul Abariga, said the illegality was detected by the Quality Assurance Team of the ECG on July 31, 2024 and the matter reported on August 2, 2024, when Shan and Yakubu were arrested.

"As we speak, we may take them to court today or tomorrow," he said. He noted that meters were being installed in many parts of the operational areas of ECG and that there had been reports that some of them were being tampered with before they were installed.

He said the company, therefore, sought to investigate that the intelligence that it had gathered and reports made to it were certainly true.

Based on that, he said the company got the four arrested on August 2, 2024, adding that they had a meter that was supposed to be a residential meter and "they were using it in a factory to manufacture plastic bowls at Oblogo, near Weija in Accra"

Mr Abariga explained that when the meters were issued or supplied to the farming out contractor (FOC), they had agents that they (FOCs) allocated the meters to for them to go round and do the installations.

Lock in

Those agents, he said, were supposed to lock in their details before installing the meters, adding that "we do all these things because if anything happens, just as has happened in this particular matter, we are able to trace up to who has done the installation"

He said it was in the course of that that the suspects were arrested for the use of power for free. Per interrogation, he said Yakubu, a partner to Shan, admitted that he paid GH¢1,200 for the illegality to be done.

Mr Abariga said the ECG was very particular about the matter as it was such little illegalities perpetuated across its operational areas that culminated into colossal sums of money that they lost.

Serious

"We are now out there and very serious about these matters. We will not allow it to go on. It is a loss not only to us as a company but a loss to all of us as Ghanaians," he said and cautioned Ghanaians against engaging in such acts.

In view of the development, he said the contract with Nyame Aye Bi Company, no matter what the terms were, would be terminated. The charges, he said that would be levelled against the suspects were power theft, interrupting the distribution system and conspiracy.

In a related development, the ECG has retrieved nine drums containing stolen twin cables valued at about GH¢ 500,000. Four persons - two Nigerians and two Ghanaians, allegedly involved are standing trial in Accra.

The four who are on bail are Lucky Grayson Eseche, Obi Innocent, Esther Sebi and Malvin Kwame Tamakloe. They were arrested in June this year.

Mr Abariga, therefore, warned members of the public to desist from tampering with the company’s facilities and assets since it had stepped up surveillance to arrest anyone caught.