The Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors has called on the Nigerian Air Force, the military, and the presidency to identify and hold accountable the officers and men of the Sam Ethnan Air Force Base, Ikeja, who attacked staff and journalists at Ikeja Electric on Thursday.
The association stated that it would not back down until justice is served for everyone brutalised by the armed men at the headquarters of Ikeja Electric Distribution Company (IKEDC) in Alausa, Lagos.
Following the invasion of IKEDC and the assault on its staff and journalists, the Area Officer Commanding, Logistics Command, Air Vice Marshall AK Ademulegun, visited the office later in the day, promising to investigate the incident.
However, in an interview on TVC on Friday, the Executive Director, Research and Advocacy, Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors, Sunday Oduntan, dismissed the claim that Ademulegun was unaware of the attack.
Oduntan, who is also the spokesman of all the electricity distribution companies (DisCos), insisted that the association would not stop seeking redress until justice is served. He highlighted that the Ikeja Air Force Base owes a debt of N4.3 billion to Ikeja Electric and has made no attempt to settle it.
“I want to believe that we’re in a sane country. I still want to believe that we’re better than we were in 1978 when Fela’s house was invaded. So, we want to see what will happen. We have to see what the presidency will do, and the military authorities too, because normally, heads must roll; not should roll, heads must roll.
“For people to leave Ikeja Air Force Base fully armed in trucks, to go somewhere and start beating civilians; they made them lie down on the floor of the Air Force base, more than a hundred people, and beating them repeatedly, someone must pay for this,” he stressed.
Oduntan likened the armed invasion of IKEDC to a coup against all DisCos, urging political leaders to take the matter seriously. He described it as a traumatic experience that has left many people unable to sleep.
“This is to the political class, this is not the time for you to be kissing your husband or kissing your wife to make any public show at the National Assembly. What the Air Force from Ikeja did to us yesterday was an indication that they can do a lot of things to all of you. This is how people easily plan and execute a coup. Because in a country where they will sign out vehicles and trucks with fully armed men, they signed out arms to invade civilians, we should not be dealing with issues that are not even important.
“What we should begin with now should be the issue of good governance. We should be at a point where no military person should be able to plan anything funny. What they did yesterday for us as DisCos is our coup. I pray they will not do that to the Lagos State Government, the National Assembly, or the Nigerian government. But unless these people are brought out, and we receive justice, I can assure you that they will do it again, and they will do it in a larger proportion. What happened yesterday was a coup against Ikeja Electric.
“And we need them to assure us of our safety, not just by one AVM saying you assure us after you sent your officers to come and kill us. So, this is something that the President needs to react to. Unless and until the military authorities do something about this openly and transparently, until they bring all the culprits to book, and we can see them, and they have to return the database, all the things that they took away. We no go gree (sic). They didn’t want us to see their faces from the CCTV, so they took the database away. There must be full restoration,” Oduntan declared.
