A cable thief steals from his own estate...SEE PHOTO.

Eyo Effiom a 30 year old man, says he sells stolen cables from
transformers to an Alhaji in Calabar, the Cross River State capital,
who usually pick up the stolen items at 3am.
The thief said this after he was nabbed on Monday vandalising the
transformer at the Edgerton/John Stone area of Calabar South.
The cable thief, who was caught by a vigilance group and beaten before
he was handed over to the police, said, "I have been alone in this
venture since the beginning of 2015. They have arrested almost all the
fellow gang members. When I steal the cable, I have an Alhaji at
Bogobiri who comes with his vehicle as early as 3am to carry the items
and pay me cash."
Mr. Mpama Asim an eye witness, told firstclass newslineo that Effiom
had been vandalising transformers in the locality for more than two
years.
He said he was caught in the act at about 2am while trying to remove
the armoured cable.
He said he saw him and immediately alerted other members of the
vigilance group who immediately nabbed Effiom.
Asim said, "We knew he was the one because we chased him from a
transformer he was trying to vandalise sometime last month, but he
escaped. Immediately I saw him again, I recognised him and alerted my
colleagues and we arrested him."
A community leader in the area, Chief Mike Ekpo, said the vandal had
forced the residents to spend thousands of naira on protection of
transformers.
Ekpo said the suspect was residing in the area, adding that residents
had been saddled with the responsibility of replacing vandalised
transformers over the years.
He said, "We are really surprised because Effiom lives in this
neighborhood. His house is on John Stone Street. We have had to
replace stolen transformer components two times this month (March).
The cable he tried to steal costs N60, 000. We are glad that a
vigilance group set up to check these criminals and today we have
caught the thief."
A cold room owner in the area, Uwem Eshiet, said he had spent over
N1.5m fixing vandalised transformers in the area in a bid to ensure
there was steady electricity supply.
When the state Public Relations Officer, Mr. Hogan Bassey was
contacted ,he confirmed that the suspected vandal was with the police,
adding that investigation was ongoing.
Firstclassnewsline.net