Read Time: 3 minutes
By Eniola Akinkuotu
Posted on March 6, 2025 16:53
The Nigerian Air Force attacked Ikeja Electric staff, abducted the CEO and ransacked the offices of their electricity provider, after the power was disconnected for non-payment.
Officers of the Nigerian Air Force stormed an electricity office in Ikeja, at the heart of the economic capital Lagos, early on Thursday March 6.
Armed men in uniform entered the Ikeja Electric headquarters, a few meters from the governor’s office. The CEO was abducted and staff brutalised for disconnecting a military barracks over unpaid bills. The incident comes as Nigeria searches for $20bn investments in its power sector.
The men were aggrieved over the audacity of the electricity workers to disconnect the Ikeja Air Force Base, which serves as the Lagos command headquarters and barracks of the Air Force. In videos seen by The Africa Report, the military officials broke down doors, vandalised office equipment, and subjected the staff to corporal punishment.
The CEO of the company, Folake Soetan, was reportedly forced into the boot of a car, where she was held captive for several minutes.
I unequivocally and wholeheartedly denounce the brutal actions of military personnel who invaded and assaulted workers at Ikeja Electric in Lagos
— Omoyele Sowore
Wave of unpaid debts
Since Nigeria privatised its national electricity company, there have been complaints over legacy debts, especially government-owned establishments that have unpaid debts running into millions of dollars.
Last year, Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) said the Presidential Villa, the military and 80 other government agencies owed a combined N47bn ($31.3m) in unpaid bills. This puts a huge strain on the finances of the electricity companies, many of which are drowning in debt.
Power utility companies recently engaged in mass disconnection of debtor companies, including government-owned universities and hospitals. The Nigerian Air Force was one of the agencies that owed a substantial sum. The Air Force and IE had previously entered into an agreement that the N60m owed would be paid off monthly.
Top of Form
Bottom of Form
However, disputes over the current power consumption remain a problem – the IE says its attempt to install meters so electricity usage could be monitored was rebuffed. The IE subsequently disconnected the electricity of the base, plunging thousands of officers and their families into darkness.
Poor investment climate
For years, Nigeria has suffered low investments in the electricity sector, mainly due to the poor operating environment. Besides the failure of government intuitions to pay their bills, there have also been legacy challenges like poor infrastructure, vandalism and pricing regulations.
Some communities have ganged up to attack electricians trying to disconnect debtors. The epileptic power supply has led to a general dislike for workers in the power sector.
The Nigerian government announced last week that it was seeking an investment of $20bn to revitalise the sector, which generates just over 5GW of electricity for over 200 million of its citizens as opposed to the 33GW it requires. The government is trying to deregulate the sector by ending the $133m it claims to spend monthly on electricity subsidies.
But the hostile environment is unlikely to encourage investments, analysts say.
“The attack on Soetan and Ikeja Electric is highly condemnable. This isn’t how to build a $1 trillion economy,” says Olumide Adesina, a financial analyst at Quantum Economics, an advisory firm.
However, economist Paul Alaje tells The Africa Report that such customer dissatisfaction is likely to continue as long as power utility companies operate like monopolies. “I don’t see an end to the ongoing drama because the entire system is weak. We will likely see more of this.”