PROSECUTORIAL CHALLENGES OF ELECTRICITY THEFT IN NIGERIA: FINDING THE SOLUTION

Abstract

One of the largest contributory factors to commercial losses and liquidity challenges in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) is electricity theft. Just like every other crime, it is punishable by fines, imprisonment, or both. It is against this backdrop that this paper examined the effect of electricity theft on the NESI and analyzed existing laws with a view to identifying its adequacy. The paper reveals that while some of the existing laws have provisions prohibiting and sanctioning electricity theft, they seem largely unresponsive to the sophisticated approach now adopted in stealing electricity thus necessitating the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission Electricity Theft and Other Related Offences Regulation as well as the Electricity Act, 2023. The paper found that it is not the absence of legal and regulatory provisions that is the challenge but the implementation and more particularly, the identification, arrest and prosecution of offenders. Consequently, the paper recommends the deployment of technological mechanism, lowering the bar of arrest procedure for suspected cases of electricity theft and diligent prosecution of suspects in order to serve as a deterrent against future occurrence. The paper also recommends that NERC should be granted prosecutorial powers to effectively tackle the menace of electricity theft.