A 32-year-old man, Ezekiel Williams, appeared before a Kaduna Chief Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday for allegedly stealing underground cables worth N1.6 million.
Williams, who resides in the Kamazou community in Kaduna, is facing a two-count charge of conspiracy and stealing.
The prosecutor, Insp. Chidi Leo, told the court that the defendant and two others, now at large, committed the offences at about 4 a.m on April 10 at the community’s power substation.
Leo alleged that Williams and his accomplices broke into the community’s power sub-station and stole underground armoured cables worth N1.6 million.
He told the court that residents of the community apprehended the defendant with a sack containing the stolen cables while his accomplices escaped.
Leo said that the offences contravened the Penal Code of Kaduna State, 2017.
The defendant, however, pleaded not guilty of the charge.
The magistrate, Mr. Ibrahim Emmanuel, granted the defendant bail in the sum of N200,000 with two sureties in like sum.
Emmanuel held that the sureties must reside within the court’s jurisdiction and must be gainfully employed.
He also ordered that the sureties show evidence of three years of tax payments to the Kaduna State government as part of the bail conditions.
The magistrate adjourned the case until May 13 for a hearing. (NAN)
