Tensions between military personnel and electricity distribution companies in Lagos have escalated following reports that soldiers attacked a substation belonging to the Eko Electricity Distribution Company (Eko DisCo) over a power outage.
The alleged assault, which took place around 1:00 a.m. on March 14, comes just days after Nigerian Air Force officers from the Sam Ethnan Airforce Base, Ikeja, stormed the headquarters of Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (Ikeja DisCo) in Alausa, where they reportedly assaulted staff and journalists while vandalizing property worth billions of naira.
Eko DisCo’s Head of Corporate Communications, Babatunde Lasaki, condemned the latest incident, describing it as part of a growing trend of attacks on electricity distribution companies.
“The soldiers attacked our office at night. They went to one of our stations in Badagry and picked two of our staff. Though they released them later in the day, the fact that they went there and abducted our workers is unfortunate,” Lasaki said.
He explained that the soldiers later returned, demanding that power be restored, despite workers informing them that the outage was due to a technical fault.
The company has reported the incident to the police and is planning to escalate the matter to the Chief of Army Staff, the Minister of Defence, and other relevant authorities.
Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors Sunday Oduntan, expressed concern over the increasing number of attacks on power sector workers by security forces.
“While we are still reeling from the brutalisation of Ikeja Electric staff and the vandalism of its head office by the Air Force, the Army has now invaded Eko DisCo’s Injection Substation in Badagry,” Oduntan said.
He added that the Commanding Officer, Lt-Col S. Lawan, had already been informed about ongoing upgrade work by the Transmission Company of Nigeria in Agbara.
However, the Nigerian Army’s Director of Information, Maj-Gen Onyema Nwachukwu, downplayed the incident, calling it a minor misunderstanding between soldiers and Eko DisCo workers following a fire outbreak.
He stated that the unit’s Commanding Officer had set up a board of inquiry to investigate the cause of the fire.
Meanwhile, in a separate development, the Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency, Abba Aliyu, has revealed that 20 federal universities and three teaching hospitals across Nigeria have received solar power interventions to curb rising energy costs.
Aliyu disclosed this while receiving a delegation from the Committee of Chairmen of Federal Polytechnic Governing Councils, led by Senator Barnabas Gemade, who sought similar interventions for polytechnics.
“The discussions focused on accelerating the National Public Sector Solarisation Initiative, which aims to provide clean, reliable energy to public institutions, including polytechnics,” REA stated.
The initiative, part of the Energising Education Programme, has already deployed solar hybrid power plants to several universities and teaching hospitals. The REA boss reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to expanding sustainable energy access across educational institutions.
