Anger as NAF personnel attack IKEDC head office over disconnection

0
374
  • Offices destroyed, workers, journalist assaulted, 16 vehicles carted away, CEO flees
  • Why we struck – NAF

There was anger in Lagos on Thursday as some workers at the Ikeja Electric Headquarters were brutalized by some armed personnel of the Nigerian Air Force.

The NAF personnel from the Sam Ethnan Barracks, Ikeja, Lagos State, had stormed the headquarters of Ikeja Electric after the company disconnected power supply due to an alleged N4bn accumulated debt.

The armed personnel also assaulted a correspondent of PUNCH Newspapers, Dare Olawin.

The journalist was at the Ikeja Electric office to attend an event at Adiyan.

Journalists were to gather at the office from where they were expected to proceed to Adiyan in Ogun State for the unveiling of a solar project.

The military men sighted THE PUNCH correspondent, alongside a TVC cameraman and one other reporter in a coaster bus.

They were beaten and made to sit on the floor.

Olawin’s Android phone, a small Itel phone and a white power bank were taken away by the men who threatened to shoot him if he tried to say anything.

It was gathered that the Air Force men led by a woman seized the office of Ikeja Electric for over one and a half hours, beating the staff and other people sighted.

The roads leading to the office were blocked, giving the military men a field day to molest those within the premises.

It was learnt that the officers were at the DisCo’s headquarters to vent their anger over the disconnection of their military base.

They left the office with engineers and drivers who they said would be forced to reconnect their barracks.

Confirming the incident to journalists on Thursday, the spokesperson for IKEDC, Kingsley Okotie, said that the NAF personnel vandalised the company’s office, “assaulted” staff members, and made away with several company assets.

“It happened this morning from the Nigerian Air Force, Sam Ethnan Barracks, Ikeja. They owe us over N4 billion, they were disconnected, and this is what we got.

“They came; they invaded our offices, our CHQ. As I speak with you now, I have a fractured leg. They molested and assaulted our staff. They went away with about 16 of our vehicles with our drivers driving them at one point.

“They destroyed all our offices, stole laptops, phones, destroyed our entire IT infrastructure, and blinded all the CCTV cameras. Luckily, they couldn’t arrest the CEO, but they were looking vehemently for her,” he said.

Okotie said that the IKEDC Chief Executive Officer, Folake Soetan, had to take cover.

In videos and photos seen by THE POINT, printers, closed-circuit television cameras, and other equipment were damaged.

In the videos and images, some officials of Ikeja Electric were made to kneel down under the sun while Soetan was locked in the trunk of the car during the raid.

Okotie, described the attack as “a traumatic experience and the height of impunity.”

“They invaded our premises, beat us up, stole, destroyed, molested, and assaulted us. They held us hostage for hours. I broke my leg in the stampede. This is shameful,” Okotie lamented.

According to him, Ikeja Electric had repeatedly written to the Air Force regarding the unpaid debt before disconnecting the barracks from power supply.

Instead of seeking dialogue, the military personnel allegedly responded with violence.

“We have written several times, and they were disconnected. Rather than resolving it through proper dialogue, they resorted to threats and this morning, they carried out those threats,” Okotie added.

It was alleged that the armed personnel stormed the Oshodi office beating and seizing phones.

Elsewhere in the state, it was gathered that the personnel in uniform forced their way into the Ikeja Electric office on Ago Palace Way, Okota, Isolo, Lagos.

Efforts to reach the spokesman for the Nigerian Air Force, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, to react to or confirm these allegations proved abortive.

THE POINT recalls that on March 3, 2025, NAF had raised alarms about a prolonged blackout at its Ikeja base, which had been without stable electricity for 12 days in spite of consistent payments to Ikeja Electric.

NAF had warned that the prolonged blackout was exposing sensitive military equipment, including bombs and rockets, to dangerously high temperatures, raising fears of a potential explosion.

“These bombs are not meant to be exposed to extreme heat. The longer this blackout continues, the higher the risk of an explosion,” NAF stated, making reference to the 2002 Ikeja Cantonment bomb blast.

Residents of the Sam Ethnan Air Force Base, Ikeja, had lamented on Monday about the 12-day blackout that grounded businesses and caused water scarcity in the barracks.

They lamented that the prolonged blackout had forced them to patronise cart pushers for water at exorbitant prices.

It was also learnt that the blackout had been a prolonged challenge the residents were faced with.

A resident who identified herself simply as Precious, disclosed that small business owners such as tailors, grocery stores, laundry and other essential services had been affected by the blackout.

She noted that residents were forced to resort to the use of generators against the barracks rules and regulations.

Precious said, “We have been experiencing the blackout for almost two weeks. The situation has not been palatable because we cannot carry out our trades again. I am a tailor and I cannot work because of the blackout, the same with others.

“Some people are now defying the order of the Nigerian Air Force authority against the use of generators because they have no choice. Essential service traders have also been affected and this has been recurring for a while now.”

Another resident, Tutu Adeboye, noted that the water supply in the barracks had been limited to 30 minutes daily between the hours of 6 am and 6:30 am, which, she claimed, was not sufficient for daily use.

She added that several residents had resorted to patronising cart pushers for water at the rate of N4, 000 per gallon.

She said, “The situation is worse. There is no water and we have to get water from these truck pushers for N4, 000 per gallon. The barracks authority only supplies water between 6 am and 6:30 am daily. For 12 days now, there is no light.

“This is not the first time we experienced a blackout but it seems there is no solution. The last time we had a blackout, it was resolved and electricity was supplied back on a ration basis. But, for two weeks now, there has been no light at all.”

Another resident who did not want to be mentioned in print noted that the blackout was caused by the debt being owed to the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company by the barracks authority.

The resident said, “What we learnt is that the barracks owes the electricity company, which is why they disconnected the supply. The AOC visited the barracks recently, but nothing was done about the situation.”

When contacted on Monday, the Head of Corporate Communications, Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company, Kingsley Okotie, declined to comment on the matter.

He stressed that the barracks is a government institution and is seen as a separate customer with a regulated communication procedure.

“I cannot react to it because the barracks is a military institution, and they are a separate customer. We have a procedure of communication when it concerns government institutions. If there is a problem, there is a procedure through which we communicate,” Okotie said.

But when also contacted on Monday, the spokesperson for the Nigeria Air Force, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, did not respond to calls and text messages sent to his line.

Military men’s attack on PUNCHman, threat to democracy – NANS

Meanwhile, the National Association of Nigeria Students has described the attack on a correspondent of The PUNCH, Dare Olawin, by men of the Sam Ethan Air Force Base, Lagos, as an attack on Nigeria’s democracy, describing the development as a height of irresponsibility on the part of the military men.

The students’ body made this known through a statement signed by its National Public Relations Officer, Samson Adeyemi, on Thursday.

Olawin was attacked when the military men broke into the Ikeja Electric’s head office, destroyed various gadgets, and also carted away other belongings of their victims.

The student body appealed to President Bola Tinubu to probe the matter and ensure culpable officers are shown the way out of the military.

Adeyemi decried the military display of impunity, adding “This is one of the reasons why the worst of democracy will be better than the best of a military rule.”

He added, “Military bosses at the Sam Ethan Air Force can’t tell us they are not aware of the impunity and show lack of prerequisite training to be military personnel. You should always consider the thoughts of other countries before acting unprofessionally. If a PUNCHman can be beaten for no just reason, what can you not do to an ordinary Nigerian?

“This is unacceptable, as we demand a thorough investigation into the matter. How did 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.”