Sam Ethnan Air-force Base Ikeja invades Ikeja Electric over disconnection due to 4bn debt

Sam-Ethnan Air force Base, Ikeja on early hours of Thursday 6, 2025 around 8am invaded Ikeja Electric Head Office, Alausa, beat, molested the staff, collected their phones, camera tripod of the media person who wanted to cover the company’s event somewhere in the network.

They also destroyed some of the company’s properties including the IT facility and security cameras to prevent the company from communicating to the rest of the world and their esteemed customers over disconnection by Ikeja Disco due to power supply issues and non-payment of over 4b naira accumulated electricity bills.

Sam Ethnan Air-force Brutality

Ikeja Electric’s Head of Corporate Communications, Kingsley Okotie, informed during the press briefing that they also went to Oshodi Business Unit segment of company with guns to do the same thing that they did in the head office, saying that their light must be restored by force.

According to him, they had several engagements to the level of Air Commanding Officer who oversees the Ikeja Air Force Base activities and reached agreements based on what they can afford to pay because of their budgetary constraints and the company implemented its own agreements but the Air Force never implement their side of the agreements.   

Sam Ethnan denied IE access to facility

Surprisingly, the Base denied the company from having access to check the electrical facility in their location but later discover that they have disable some of the equipment such as the Auto-Reclosure and started using light for almost 24 hours daily like band A customers instead of 10 to 12 hours a day that the 60m they are paying can cover. The disablement of the Auto-Reclosure was reported for intervention and held another engagement, yet access was denied. Hence, the company had no option than to disconnect which happened ten days ago. He said,

Kingsley said the normal practice is that when your service provider issue disconnection notice and later disconnected you, the customer will come for dialogue but the Air Force Base Ikeja did not, rather they started issuing threat letters and blackmail, telling the media that there is equipment in the base that can explode any moment if Ikeja Electric fail to restore their supply and they are not ready to pay for the service of getting more supply.

Clarification on debts

He clarified that in 2024 alone, the Base owed over 800m naira, that they have been paying an average of 40m to 60m naira every month which did not cover the energy that they are consuming which led to the outstanding debt over the years.

He noted that apart from the several engagements, they have chrono of correspondence letters and interactions to make sure that there is peace between the two organizations but they are not meeting up the agreements.

Ikeja Electric is therefore using the medium to tell the whole world that the Nigerian Air Force Base Ikeja has done what is unbecoming which is unfair and unjust to all the staff and the company.

The company and the entire staff therefore seek redress and intervention of the higher authority. Okotie speak up.

AOC Sam Ethnan Airforce visit IE

The Air Officer Commanding (AOC), Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Adeniran Kola Ademuwagun, Air Officer Commanding Logistic Command, Sam Ethnan Airforce Base Ikeja, later visited Ikeja Electric for dialogue with the Executive Management team over the incident and promised to ensure the payment of outstanding debt while investigating the officers that were involved in the matter for necessary discipline and also request for reconnection of the base.