Kennedy Gambo, a man who was jailed for a year without the option of a fine by a Magistrates Court in Zaria, Kaduna State, for attempting to vandalise a power transformer belonging to Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company, said that all he wanted to do was hug a transformer and commit suicide.
The Chief Magistrate, Umar Bature, however told him that suicide is also a crime in the laws of the country.
Gambo, who was also arraigned on other charges, was sentenced to six-month imprisonment for trespassing, with the option of N5,000 fine; and another six-month imprisonment for mischief, also with a N5,000 option of fine.
The Kaduna Electric’s Head of Corporate Communication, Abdulazeez Abdullahi, while reacting to the judgment, said the company was pleased with the outcome and hoped that it would serve as a deterrent to other miscreants.
He commended the efforts of security agents, including men of the Nigeria Police and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, in tackling the menace of vandalism in the state.
Abdullahi also called on communities to get involved, by keeping watchful eyes on transformers in their neighbourhoods and reporting suspicious movements around such to security agencies.
