Lagos community battles power company over police harassment
Please share this story:
Residents of Orile Oko-Oba in the Agege region of Lagos State have denounced the use of armed police by a power company, Ikeja Electric, to impose payment of electricity bills.
However, the company said the cops were for the protection of its staff, who have already been attacked in the community.
PUNCH Metro had reported that two of the residents had been taken to court for allegedly beating a company official.
After the incident, our correspondent gathered that power company officials, accompanied by armed police, went to Augusto Avenue, a street in the community, on October 13 .
Photos and videos seen by our correspondent showed workers and police in the community, while young people gathered to resist them.
Community executive member Odewale Amao said people were terrified by the presence of the armed officers.
He said: "I was called to have the officials of Ikeja Electric bring the police with them. When we went there, the officials claimed that they had brought the police because they thought the locals were going to attack them. Shortly after, another team of armed police arrived.
"We told them we couldn't give them money if they wanted to use the police to harass us. Then they started cutting the electricity. We don't understand why they oppress us as if we were under a military regime. »
A cleric, Adegbenro Ibrahim, said houses that suffered a power cut were still forced to pay.
He said, "They sent my bill 30 minutes before their arrival and gave me 43,633 naira just for my apartment in a two-apartment building, almost 90,000 naira for one. home. This is what every home faces in this community.
“They sent about 30,000 naira to a house. When we checked the "Jump Form" which shows the electricity calculation, we saw that the house should only receive N18,000. They have disconnected some houses, but are still bringing bills to these houses. Some officials say the company wants to use the money they get from us to pursue their case against us in court."
An official, Olabode Oladeyi, said: "I walked out when I heard people shouting outside. I saw armed men pursuing our residents. It was a scary sight. We did not fight with them. We were just shouting that they shouldn't bring guns to harass us because they wanted to collect money. »
A lawyer, Toyin Taiwo-Ojo, said it was disturbing that the police had become money collectors.
She said: "If the company has consumers who have not paid their bills, there are two options. First, they can disconnect their power supply. go to court and obtain a judgment to collect payment for electricity consumption.”
Corporate Communications Manager, Ikeja Electric, Felix Oulue, said the police were there for security reasons.
He said, "If you go to a place where you're not safe, what are you going to do? You're going to impose payment, but people don't want to pay. We know at how hard this job is. The only reason we will enforce payment is when people refuse to pay.
"We can't charge them N1 or N2. If they don't want estimated bills, they can buy meters. It happens everywhere. If they have a problem, they have to go at the office and contact them."
Please share this story:
Please share this story:
Residents of Orile Oko-Oba in the Agege region of Lagos State have denounced the use of armed police by a power company, Ikeja Electric, to impose payment of electricity bills.
However, the company said the cops were for the protection of its staff, who have already been attacked in the community.
PUNCH Metro had reported that two of the residents had been taken to court for allegedly beating a company official.
After the incident, our correspondent gathered that power company officials, accompanied by armed police, went to Augusto Avenue, a street in the community, on October 13 .
Photos and videos seen by our correspondent showed workers and police in the community, while young people gathered to resist them.
Community executive member Odewale Amao said people were terrified by the presence of the armed officers.
He said: "I was called to have the officials of Ikeja Electric bring the police with them. When we went there, the officials claimed that they had brought the police because they thought the locals were going to attack them. Shortly after, another team of armed police arrived.
"We told them we couldn't give them money if they wanted to use the police to harass us. Then they started cutting the electricity. We don't understand why they oppress us as if we were under a military regime. »
A cleric, Adegbenro Ibrahim, said houses that suffered a power cut were still forced to pay.
He said, "They sent my bill 30 minutes before their arrival and gave me 43,633 naira just for my apartment in a two-apartment building, almost 90,000 naira for one. home. This is what every home faces in this community.
“They sent about 30,000 naira to a house. When we checked the "Jump Form" which shows the electricity calculation, we saw that the house should only receive N18,000. They have disconnected some houses, but are still bringing bills to these houses. Some officials say the company wants to use the money they get from us to pursue their case against us in court."
An official, Olabode Oladeyi, said: "I walked out when I heard people shouting outside. I saw armed men pursuing our residents. It was a scary sight. We did not fight with them. We were just shouting that they shouldn't bring guns to harass us because they wanted to collect money. »
A lawyer, Toyin Taiwo-Ojo, said it was disturbing that the police had become money collectors.
She said: "If the company has consumers who have not paid their bills, there are two options. First, they can disconnect their power supply. go to court and obtain a judgment to collect payment for electricity consumption.”
Corporate Communications Manager, Ikeja Electric, Felix Oulue, said the police were there for security reasons.
He said, "If you go to a place where you're not safe, what are you going to do? You're going to impose payment, but people don't want to pay. We know at how hard this job is. The only reason we will enforce payment is when people refuse to pay.
"We can't charge them N1 or N2. If they don't want estimated bills, they can buy meters. It happens everywhere. If they have a problem, they have to go at the office and contact them."
Please share this story:
What's Your Reaction?
