Vigilante operatives have arrested a man for allegedly cutting high-tension cables in Kwali, Abuja.
The suspect, identified as Peters Shina, was caught after residents raised an alarm over his suspicious actions.
Vigilante operatives in the Kwali Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have arrested a man identified as Peters Shina for allegedly vandalizing high-tension electricity cables along Ashara village.
According to a vigilante member, Yunusa Saidu, the suspect was apprehended around 4:23 p.m. on Thursday, October 2, 2025, after residents noticed his suspicious movements and raised an alarm.
Saidu said the suspect “boldly approached a spot where some high-tension cables had fallen and began cutting them,” prompting the vigilantes to mobilize quickly and arrest him at the scene.
He added that Shina, a native of Kabba in Kogi State who resides in Gwako village near Gwagwalada, confessed to the crime during interrogation. The suspect has since been handed over to the police at the Dangara Division for further investigation.
In a related incident, three other suspected vandals were also arrested with a large quantity of stolen high-tension cables near Piri village, also in Kwali Area Council.
A police source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the suspects were intercepted while transporting the cables in a Golf car at a checkpoint on Wednesday, October 1, 2025.
“Police officers became suspicious after the driver, on sighting them, parked abruptly and fled into the bush,” the source said. “Three other occupants tried to escape, but one of the officers threatened to shoot, forcing them to surrender.”
The suspects and the vehicle were later taken to the Kwali Police Division, while efforts are ongoing to trace and arrest the fleeing driver.
Meanwhile, two weeks earlier, unidentified vandals were reported to have destroyed electricity cables between Manderegi village and Abaji town, plunging Abaji and surrounding communities into darkness.
