No fewer than 100 women resident at Omosohwofa Street, Okumagba Layout, Warri, Delta State have held a prayer session against suspected electricity cable thieves and vandals of their transformer.
The women who gathered at the junction of the street as early as 6am, noted that the theft of the armoured cables has become a reccurring incident.
According to them, until two months ago when a previously stolen cable was replaced, the neighbourhood was in darkness for three years.
Spokesperson of the group, Mrs. Roseline Ikuesa, said power was restored recently and they only enjoyed it for two months before the armoured cable to the transformer was stolen.
She added that though the development has been reported to the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) and the police, residents are contributing N6,000 each to purchase another one.
“We don’t know who is doing this. We don’t know the enemy of Omosohwofa Street. That’s why we mothers and women came out to cry to God that we don’t want to live in darkness again. We want to live in light. Let the God of light appear and help us fight this battle,” she said.
Ikuesa said that the prayer session was the fifth in a seven-day programme.
She also appealed to government to come to their aid “because we are tired of contributing money for our street”.
Chairman of the street, Mr. Ese Azakaza who corroborated the claims of the women, said the armoured cables were stolen and a visit to the BEDC revealed that it was “a clear act of vandalism”.
He said, “five days running now, we discovered that some of the wires were cut off. In fact, if you look at it, you will know that it is a deliberate act of sabotage. Some of the parts that were removed were not up to a yard or a meter.
“In fact, some people even recommended the African juju but because they are mothers and they know that sometimes these things also go with adverse effects, they opted for prayers.”