The Federal Government has come under fire for its silence over the attacks on electricity distribution companies by the military.
This came as the National Union of Electricity Employees has warned that continued assaults on electricity workers would lead to a nationwide service withdrawal.
The PUNCH reports that within one week, the two distribution companies in Lagos were attacked by men in military uniforms, inflicting injuries on civilians doing their lawful duties.
As a result, stakeholders expressed concerns that the Presidency, the Ministry of Defence, the Office of the National Security Adviser, and the Chief of Defence Staff appeared to have turned a blind eye to the military invasions which ought to be a national security issue.
The Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors argued that if the Federal Government had sanctioned the Nigerian Air Force operatives who attacked Ikeja Electric on March 6, their colleagues in the Nigerian Army would not have been emboldened to attack an injection substation belonging to the Eko Disco in Badagry on March 14.
Recall that on March 6, men and officers of the Nigerian Air Force from the Sam Ethnan Air Force Base in Ikeja, invaded the corporate headquarters of Ikeja Electric in Alausa, Lagos.
The soldiers who also brutalised a correspondent of PUNCH Newspapers and other journalists who were on the premises for an assignment during the 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.
In a letter earlier sent to IKEDC, the NAF had warned the Disco that its men were on edge and that they might strike if the base was not reconnected.
The PUNCH reports that the NAF personnel stormed the Disco headquarters around 7:40 am loaded in military trucks, several OP-MESA vehicles, and others.
Our correspondent, alongside a TVC cameraman and one other reporter, was sighted on a coaster bus by the military men. They were dragged out to be beaten blue and black and made to sit on the floor.
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 and efforts to make the military pay were rebuffed.
A CCTV footage that went viral on Monday showed the disturbing visuals of the attack, the height of vandalism, and the brutality that took place at IKEDC on March 6.
Meanwhile, when the Discos had yet to recover from the shock of the IKEDC invasion, men of the Nigerian Army invaded the EKEDC substation in Badagry over a power outage.
The PUNCH gathered that the attack happened around 1 am on Friday, March 14.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors, Sunday Oduntan, expressed shock that another Disco was attacked by the military within one week, underscoring the trend of military invasion of utility companies.
Speaking with our correspondent, Oduntan regretted that the Federal Government’s silence on the Ikeja attack encouraged the Army to attack the Disco office in Badagry.
According to him, if the Area Officer Commanding, Logistics, Air Vice Marshal AK Ademulegun, and the Base Commander, Air Commodore US Umar, were still in their positions without any sanction, the attack by the military would continue.
The ANED spokesman expressed worry that up until now, President Bola Tinubu has yet to take decisive action against the attackers, paving the way for future attacks by men of the armed forces against the Discos.
“This act of impunity must stop. And that is why we are calling out the President, the National Security Adviser, and the Chief of Air Staff. It is unfortunate that since the attack happened up to this morning, nothing has been done. Umar is still there as the Base Commander at Ikeja Air Force Base. Air Vice-Marshal A.K. Ademulegun is still there at Ikeja Air Force Base.
“In fact, in the case of the Chief of Air Staff, every single letter that we wrote to the Ikeja Air Force Base, we copied him. He did not reply to us. The Chief of Air Staff ignored everything regarding the N4.3bn debt.
“I fear that once nothing has been done to Air Vice-Marshal Ademulegun and the Base Commander, Umar, then the attacks will continue. The Base Commander at Ikeja personally supervised the torture and beating of our staff and came back in the evening on a so-called peace mission to assess the damages caused by their men. This impunity must stop,” Oduntan said.
He stated that he was happy that there was CCTV footage showing the faces of the officers who attacked the IKEDC headquarters despite taking away the database.
“They took away the video, they destroyed all the CCTV cameras, took away all the hard drives. But, thank God, one of those databases that they did not see is what gave us access to the CCTV footage. In the video, you can see how they were beating an innocent staff on the corridor. And you can see all their faces. A few of them even covered their faces,” he said.
Oduntan cried out for safety, saying, “I’m really scared. They’ve been threatening me as a person. And this is why I’m saying that, in a civil society, unless the political leaders begin to do something about these military people; if you think there cannot be military intervention in Nigeria, you’re joking. For those of us who have witnessed this kind of beating and these kinds of invasions, we know that these guys don’t respect civil authority.
“And that’s why I kept on speaking that the President is supposed to be the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. And when you ignore this, one day, you don’t know what will happen,” he warned.
Our correspondent learned that the Ikeja Air Force Base had been reconnected a few days after the attack, suggesting that the military had achieved its aim with the invasion.
NUEE threaten strike
The National Union of Electricity Employees has warned that continued assaults on electricity workers would lead to a nationwide service withdrawal.
The union also expressed grave concern over the increasing threat to workers’ lives, especially with incidents of provocation and abuse from customers, including members of the military.
In a press statement released on Monday by the NUEE acting General Secretary, Dominic Igwebike, titled “Another Military Invasion of Eko Disco and Torture of Our Staff on the 14th of March 2025”, the union condemned the recent attack and emphasised that the safety and dignity of its workforce must be upheld, or they will be forced to take drastic action.
The statement read, “The National Union of Electricity Employees condemns the invasion of the Eko Disco facility at the Badagry Injection Substation by overzealous military personnel.
“While we are yet to recover from the brutalisation of Ikeja Electric staff and vandalisation of the Head Office by the Nigerian Air Force, the Nigerian Army invaded the Eko Disco Badagry Injection Substation, Badagry, Lagos at 1.00am on the 14th of March 2025.
“They abducted two members of our staff and took them to their Barracks at The Nigerian Army, 15th Field Engineers Regiment, Topo Town, Badagry, Lagos. The abducted employees are the DSO, and a Proton Security Officer on duty.
“Their claim was poor electricity supply to their Barracks in the last week. Whereas, Eko Electricity Management had earlier given public notice to all customers, and proper information about the ongoing TCN Upgrade in Agbara was duly communicated to their commanding officer, Lt Col S. Lawan. Efforts were made to restore power to the barracks but the feeder went off due to excess load.”
The union said the abducted employees were released at 4 am after the military tortured and brutalised them as if they were common criminals.
“We reject vehemently this continuous threat to the lives of electricity workers across the Country and provocation by customers, especially the military. The management of various Discos must ensure that workers and protected and secured while on duty.
“We hereby demand that the relevant authorities should call to order all those who are responsible for this callous, unprofessional, and atrocious behaviour. Otherwise, we will order our staff to withdraw their services to stay safe. To be forewarned is to be forearmed,” the statement concluded.