A 20-year-old Nigerian man, Abdul Abubakari Sadiq, has recently been convicted by the Weija Circuit Court for damaging a water meter belonging to the Ghana Water Company Limited.
Despite pleading guilty to the charge of intentionally and unlawfully causing damage to the meter, Sadiq denied the charge of stealing.
The court, presided over by James Kojo Botah, convicted him on his plea on the 27th of February, 2024.
Sadiq was sentenced to either pay a fine of GHȼ2,400.00 or face a six-month imprisonment. The arrest and subsequent conviction of Sadiq were orchestrated by the Management of Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), Accra West Region. Sadiq is scheduled to appear in court on the 11th of April, 2024, in connection with the charge of stealing.
The incident occurred on the 23rd of February, 2024, when Sadiq was apprehended by a resident of Kasoa Amanfrom Toptown with a water meter and a standpipe tap in his sack. Prior to this, Sadiq was spotted walking around the area with his scrap dealer’s truck. He entered a compound and broke the meter, assuming there was nobody home. However, the noise caught the attention of one of the occupants, leading to his arrest and subsequent prosecution.
In a similar incident in September 2023, another Nigerian named Marvin Godwin was arrested in Kasoa Nyanyano for meter theft and was convicted by Linda Amissah at the Ofaakor Circuit Court. He is currently serving his sentence in prison.
The Ghana Water Company Limited released a statement through its Accra West Regional Communication Manager, Solace A. M. Akomeah, highlighting the prevalence of meter theft as a major challenge faced by the company in its operations. The Kasoa/Nyanyano area in the Accra West Region was noted as a hotspot for such criminal activities, with the district offices frequently receiving reports of missing meters. This has significantly impeded GWCL’s goal of achieving a 100 per cent metering ratio nationwide.
The lack of water meters results in customers being billed based on estimates, leading to disputes between the company and its clients. The statement emphasized the company’s commitment to apprehending and penalizing all culprits involved in meter stealing to curb the issue. GWCL urged the public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious individuals to the police for appropriate action.
