Residents of the G.

The suspect, who was arrested on Wednesday, was said to be a big-time ice-block dealer in the metropolis that has been suffering from a total blackout for about a year.

According to some residents of the area, the man in question, who has been tapping the electricity for about three years, also offered to give a one-million-naira bribe, but was rejected by the security personnel who arrested him.

Some streetlights in Maiduguri are mostly powered by generating sets.

Recall that Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, has been without electricity supply since last year, causing untold hardship for the citizens.

The blackout followed the destruction of electricity transmission towers along the Maiduguri-Damaturu highway by Boko Haram insurgents.