Residents of Oworonshoki in Lagos State have accused the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC) of plunging them into darkness for over a month, not due to a system failure, but under the guise of a crackdown on electricity theft in the community.

Some residents told FIJ that while IKEDC claims its actions aim to identify those stealing electricity through illegal connections, they believe the company’s approach is both unlawful and fraudulent.

A resident told FIJ that IKEDC has been disconnecting entire transformers without proof, which has forced innocent consumers to pay arbitrary fees before restoring supply.

In a demand letter dated March 13, Agbane Israel, legal representative of the Oworonshoki Electricity Forum, called for an immediate halt to the disconnections, the reconnection of affected transformers, and N10 million in damages.

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He said that on February 13, IKEDC officials arrived at the Lone and Ife CDA area of Oworonshoki and disconnected the transformer supplying electricity to over 10 streets.

Israel said IKEDC justified its action with a suspected electricity theft case but failed to provide any evidence. As a result, hundreds of homes were left without power for weeks.

“While the above issue was yet to be resolved, staff of Ikeja Electric subsequently went and defused transformers supplying other streets in Oworonshoki under the Ogudu-IJN-Oriola feeder, still under the guise of electricity theft, without providing anything to substantiate the allegations. Some of the affected streets include Salami, Olorunfunmi, Olayiwola, and Oduduwa,” the letter reads in part.

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A Revenue Drive Disguised as a Crackdown

Speaking with FIJ, Seun Gbogboade, chairman of the Oworonshoki Electricity Forum, said IKEDC’s actions were nothing more than a calculated revenue drive.

“Since early February, IKEDC has been illegally defusing transformers on our feeder. The Oriola feeder has about 15 to 17 transformers, and they illegally migrated us to Band A even though they didn’t meet NERC’s criteria,” Gbogboade told FIJ.

“The law states that before moving a feeder to Band A, every customer must be metered, and they must receive an average of 20 hours of power daily. But not all of us have meters, and they never gave us any notice before making the change. After putting us on Band A, they then claimed some residents were bypassing meters. But over 70 per cent of us already have prepaid meters, so who exactly is stealing power?”

He said that instead of identifying and punishing the culprits, IKEDC has been cutting off entire neighbourhoods, forcing residents to either comply with their demands or remain in darkness indefinitely.

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According to Gbogboade, the power company has placed outrageous conditions for restoring supply. He said IKEDC showed and disconnected a transformer, then left those connected to it in darkness for two weeks.

When they returned, Gbogboade said, they asked those on prepaid meters to pay N10,000 each, even when they had electricity units.

“Second, they ask those on postpaid meters to pay all their outstanding bills before reconnection. After the affected street pays, they move to another street and repeat the same thing. So far, they’ve done this with about seven transformers,” he said.

Gbogboade also said IKEDC keeps pressuring community leaders to take responsibility for finding and reporting those engaging in power theft, something he believes is the company’s duty, not theirs.

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“They want us to play the role of law enforcement, to investigate and report those bypassing meters. Why should we suffer for their inability to do their job? It’s pure exploitation,” Gbogboade added.

When FIJ called Oluyemi Ayanga, a business manager with IKEDC, she affirmed the position Gbogboade relayed to FIJ. She said that many residents in the area have no meter but enjoy electricity by illegally connecting wires to different sources.

Ayanga insisted that the residents have to find a way to mitigate this problem among themselves.