Brian Anucha, a suspected fake employee of the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHEDC) has met his waterloo.
Anucha was said to have been defrauding residents of Rivers State.
The suspect was reportedly apprehended at the Aba Road axis of Port Harcourt, after allegedly defrauding a customer, Emmanuel Nte, N220,000.
The Acting Manager, Corporate Communications, PHED, Chioma Aninwe, who confirmed the arrest in a statement on Wednesday explained that the suspect approached Nte and offered to assist him activate his account and pay his bills.
But the suspect was said to have fled with the money compelling the victim to report the matter to PHED.
Explaining how the suspect was arrested, Aninwe said: “Mr. Nte reported the incident to a PHED staff during a routine customer check. As soon as the company got wind of the incident, they deployed security personnel to monitor the area so as to apprehend the fraudster if he ever showed up. Their effort eventually yielded result after a couple of days and Anucha was apprehended.”
She said the suspect was handed over to the police for prosecution and warned members of the public against making payments to individuals.
Aninwe said: “PHED seizes this opportunity to reiterate its earlier warnings to the public against making cash payments to individuals to guard against such ugly incidents.
“This has been the position of the MD/CEO of PHED, Dr. Henry Ajagbawa, since 2020 cautioning the public against any cash dealing with anybody on behalf of the organization.
“Payments are to be made at PHED offices, banks and accredited agents. Customers should also ensure they get a receipt at the point of payment.”
Nte was quoted as thanking PHED for its prompt response and commitment to resolving the issue, which led to the arrest of the fraudster.
