Date: 2016-09-16

The authorities of the Kwara State Command of the Nigeria Secu­rity and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) have paraded a 62-year-old former territo­rial manager of the defunct Nigeria Telecommunications (NITEL) Plc, Benedict Uwul­ekhue and 11 others over al­leged vandalism, criminal conspiracy and illegal sale of the company's equipment.

While parading the sus­pects, the state commandant of the NSCDC, Pedro Ideba, said two of the accomplices of the former NITEL manager allegedly offered N140, 000 bribe to NSCDC operatives to stop criminal investigation of their alleged offences.

The commandant, who said some of the equipment allegedly sold to two suspect­ed buyers in the Ilorin me­tropolis included vandalised high tension cables, electric­ity transformer and contain­erised transmitter belonging to the NITEL company.

He recalled that the defunct NITEL in the state capital still had some telecommunication equipment in its premises, saying that the arrested sus­pects included three security men on guard at the company.

The NSCDC boss, who said the buyers of the NITEL equipment could not produce document to authenticate ownership of the items, add­ed that it was during further investigation into one of the buyers' house that two in­dustrial electricity generating plants belonging to govern­ment were discovered.

He also said that the securi­ty men attached to the NITEL premises had confessed to the crime, adding that all the items had been moved to the command's headquarters and that all the accused persons would be arraigned in court after conclusion of investiga­tion.

Speaking with journalists, the former NITEL territorial manager said that he decided to move out the equipment from NITEL premises for safekeeping when he was pressurised by many pro­spective buyers of the equip­ment. The man, who said he was innocent of his actions, add­ed that he did it in good faith.

Two of the suspected buy­ers of the NITEL equipment, Ugwuma Marcelius and Chukwudi Mba, identified as auto electrical dealers, said that they bought the items from an auction sale organ­ised by NATCOM in April this year, adding that they had documents.

They said they bought the industrial electricity genera­tor at N650,000 each and the containerised NITEL trans­mitter and high tension ca­bles for N700,000.