The Electricity Distribution Company has cried out over the invasion of its corporate headquarters by men and officers of the Nigerian Air Force from the Sam Ethnan Air Force Base in Ikeja, Lagos State on Thursday.
The soldiers who also brutalised a correspondent of TheNigerian Newspapers, Dare Olawin, and other journalists who were on the premises for an assignment during their period, invaded the premises on the expiration of the ultimatum given to the Disco to reconnect their power supply which was disconnected because of a debt of N4bn.
TheNigerian Metro reports that they stormed the Disco headquarters opposite MITV, Ikeja, Lagos around 7:40 am loaded in a military truck, two OP-MESA vehicles, and others.
The journalists were to gather at Ikeja to proceed to Adiyan in Ogun State to unveil a solar project.
Our correspondent, alongside a TVC cameraman and one other reporter, was sighted in a coaster bus by the military men.
They were dragged out to be beaten blue and black and made to sit on the floor.
Our correspondent’s phones and a white power bank were taken away by the men who threatened to shoot him if he tried to say anything.
A tripod belonging to the TVC cameraman and a memory card were also taken away by the men. Our correspondent sustained an injury in his left eye in the process.
The Air Force operatives led by a woman and some men in mufti seized the office of Ikeja Electric for over one and a half hours, beating the workers and other people sighted on the premises.
The roads leading to the office were blocked, giving the military men a field day to molest those within the premises of Ikeja Electric.
They left the office with engineers and drivers who they said would be forced to reconnect their barracks to the national grid.
The spokesman for the IKEDC, Kingsley Okotie, said the company had to disconnect the feeder supplying electricity to the base after its electricity bills accumulated to N4bn.
Okotie explained how the men in the military camouflage vandalised doors, CCTV cameras, and other gadgets in the office.
“In my young adult life, I witnessed something that I had never seen today by men of the Nigeria Air Force from Sam Ethnan Base, Ikeja, who are our customers. Because of the electricity supply and issues of indebtedness, they invaded us, beat us up, and carted away our laptops. They destroyed the entire corporate headquarters of our business, as well as our Oshodi office, the business unit, and other locations around Oshodi that service the Air Force base.
“It is on record that in the last 10 years, their bill has accumulated to over N4bn. I repeat, N4bn. And arrangements for payment in terms of even servicing their electricity bill have been abortive.
“They feel that it’s their entitlement to use electricity for free. And we have reminded them several times that we don’t get government subvention in this organisation. It’s a privatised entity. As such, it is clear that most of the things that appear to be inefficiencies on our part are because of people like the Air Force base and the debt they owe the business. Because if that kind of debt is owed by just one institution, imagine how much that would have gone in terms of relief to places where they need transformers and other facilities to improve supply,” Okotie said.
According to him, instead of coming to the table, as they had always done with them, they resorted to attacks.
Okotie disclosed that “sometime in October, the AOC Ademulegun intervened on behalf of the base commander, and we had some level of agreements, which we implemented. But what they tactically did was to deny our technicians access to the facility so that they could manipulate that installation within the base. So, the regulated hours that they would get supplied based on what they could pay for was exceeded. That is an infraction. That is unlawful. That is criminal.”
The spokesperson disclosed that the Air Force had on Wednesday written the company, ordering it to reconnect the base within 48 hours or face the consequences.
“They came to attack us after writing us barely yesterday, giving us a 48-hour ultimatum to reconnect them. Is this no more a democracy?
“I’m limping now. You saw them checking my vitals earlier. A lot of people were brutalised, harassed and beaten. Even journalists who came around earlier were seriously beaten. A TheNigerian reporter Dare Olawin was brutalised and his phones were taken away. A TVC reporter had his tripod, camera, and memory card taken away. They went away with 15 of our operational vehicles and abducted them at gunpoint with the drivers. Where they marched them to, we didn’t know.
“When we started escalating the matter a few minutes later, they returned them,” he narrated.
Okotie demanded justice, asking the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar, to ensure justice is served
“We want justice. This is unfair to us as individuals. This is unfair to us as Nigerians and even as an organisation that is in the business of utilities, providing services to the people. We are no longer safe. As we speak here now, once we are done, it’s just to get out of this place. Some of us who by our responsibility is speaking now, I’m sure our lives are in danger.
“So, the Chief of Air Staff, please protect me. I have a young family. Because your men in the Air Force in Ikeja, Sam Ethnan Base, are after our lives. They were asking, who is the CEO? Where is that madam? They were asking, who is the Chief Technical Officer? Who is the engineer, Daramola? They came prepared for the people they wanted to kill. It was God who saved us.
“Please let the world hear it. Let President Bola Tinubu hear that this is happening at this time in the history of our country. The Divisional Police Officer came earlier, they were harassing her. They asked, ’Who’s DPO?’ Those guys were just so unruly,” he narrated.
Asked if the incident would not affect other customers, he replied, “As it stands now, we pray it doesn’t affect other customers because we are responsible as an organisation and we are in business to provide electricity to our customers and the public. However, they are on a feeder. That feeder is out. But they are not the only ones on that feeder. But that is the most we could do because they can’t allow us to access their facility to disconnect them. You can’t do it. They will kill you. You can’t come back alive. So, that feeder is down for now and it remains down.
“They abducted some of us trying to intimidate us to restore power. They may come back again and that’s why we are sounding like this because that is their usual tactic. But enough is enough!” he warned.
He said the company’s server, backup database, and CCTV cameras were vandalised and taken away.
According to him, the soldiers forcefully broke into offices including the IT section and the office of the Managing Director, destroying various gadgets.
Doors to offices were also destroyed while computers, phones, and CCTV gadgets were carted away.
Meanwhile, the National Association of Nigerian Students has described the attack on our correspondent as an attack on Nigeria’s democracy, describing the development as the height of irresponsibility.
The students’ body made this known through a statement signed by its National Public Relations Officer, Samson Adeyemi.
Adeyemi decried the soldiers’ display of impunity, saying, “This is one of the reasons why the worst of democracy will be better than the best of a military rule. This attack is best described as an attack on Nigeria’s democracy.”
He added, “Military bosses at the Sam Ethnan Air Force can’t tell us they were not aware of the impunity and show of lack of prerequisite training to be military personnel. You should always consider the thoughts of other countries before acting unprofessionally. If a TheNigerianman could be beaten for no just reason, what can u not do to an ordinary Nigerian?
“This is unacceptable as we demand a thorough investigation into the matter. How come the barracks become indebted? Mr President, please don’t close your eyes to this. This is a misrepresentation of what President Bola Tinubu’s government stands for.”
Sources within the Sam Ethnan Air Force base told our correspondent on condition of anonymity that following the disconnection, some top officers of the barracks illegally connected to the airport electricity feeders.
When contacted over the telephone about the incident, the Nigerian Air Force spokesperson, Air Commodore Olusola Akinboyewa, told our correspondent that the matter was being addressed and that an official statement would be released to TheNigerian Metro.
“Thanks for your concern. The matter is being addressed. Expect a statement soon,” he stated.
As of the time this report was filed, Akinboyewa had yet to release the statement.
A TheNigerian Metro report on Tuesday detailed how residents of the Air Force Base endured a 12-day blackout that disrupted businesses and caused a severe water shortage within the barracks.
A similar incident was reported on July 25, 2024, when both military personnel and civilians living on the base voiced their frustration over the disconnection of their power supply.
