Ejiofor Alike
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Eko Electricity Distribution Company, Mr. Adeoye Fadeyibi has decried the growing spate of violent attacks on staff of the company in some communities within the company’s operational territory.
This is coming as a Tinubu Magistrate Court in Lagos Island has sentenced one Femi Adeleke, 32, to six months of imprisonment for assaulting a staff member of the company, who was on official duties at the accused residence at No. 3 Saliu Aina Street, Maroko, under the Lekki Business District of the power utility company.
Speaking to journalists on the arrest of a man, who allegedly inflicted machete cut on a staff of the company at Petedo area of Agabara in Ogun State, which is under the Agbara/Badagry Business District of the company, Fadeyibi expressed his disaffection against the ugly trend.
Fadeyibi commended the police for arresting the suspect, who committed the offence when the victim, in company of some of his colleagues, was in the area to effect disconnection of defaulters of the company’s electricity bill.
He expressed the confidence that other accomplices in the case would soon be apprehended by the police and brought to book accordingly.
The EKEDC CEO added that the company would explore all legal means to ensure that perpetrators of such criminal acts would not go unpunished.
Fadeyibi disclosed that apart from working with law enforcement agencies to get perpetrators of physical attack arrested, the company’s legal department has been instructed to ensure diligent prosecution of cases of violent attack on staffers of the company.
He advised those who have complaint against the conduct of any of the company’s staff to explore the various platforms provided by the company for customers to lodge their complaints, instead of resorting to violent attack.
In a related development, a Tinubu Magistrate Court in Lagos Island has sentenced one Femi Adeleke, 32, to six months of imprisonment for assaulting a staff member of the company, who was on official duties at the accused residence at No. 3 Saliu Aina Street, Maroko area of Lagos.
EKEDC’s General Manager in charge of Corporate Communications, Mr. Godwin Idemudia said in a statement that the offence was committed in October 2017 when a team of EKEDC staff on routine revenue collection duty requested for the electricity bill of the accused premises to ascertain level of indebtedness.
According to Idemudia, upon discovering that the house was indebted to the company, an order for disconnection was given by the team leader.
This according to him, the accused attacked the EKEDC staff member holding the ladder for another colleague who had climbed the pole to effect disconnection
The accused was also said to have hauled a bottle at the linesman on the pole.
After taking the plea of the accused and evidence from witnesses called by the prosecution, the presiding judge Mrs F.O. Ikolaba found the accused guilty and subsequently sentenced him to 6 months imprisonment on each of the three count charge of assault, obstruction of people on lawful duty and conduct likely to cause breach of public peace. The sentence is however to run concurrently.
Meanwhile one person is now in police custody for a similar offence in Agbara, Ogun State.
The man was said to have attacked Destiny Ubani, also a staffer of Eko Electricity Distribution Company who was in the suspect’s house at Petedo area of Agbara, Ogun state to carry out disconnection for non-payment of electricity bill.
