Power outage: Soldiers invade NEPA office, beats worker

Some soldiers attached to the 35 Artillery Brigade, Alamala Barracks, Abeokuta, Ogun State, have allegedly tortured a staff of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company, IBEDC, over ‘poor power’ supply. The soldiers, numbering about six and led by one Major Musa, stormed the IBEDC substation – Olumo business hub, Rounder – on March 6 and met one of them, Salau Adekunle, on duty. They descended on Adekunle, the substation’s distribution officer, with horse whips.

The victim, whose back bore effects of the flogging, said he ended up in a hospital because of the beating. He said, “I was on duty on that day around 12pm when the soldiers came into our office with horse whips. They told me to get up and without explanation, they started beating me. I had to go to the hospital for treatment. “They had come earlier then to threaten us. We reported at our head office and the head of the barracks was petitioned. They complained that they did not get supply regularly, They said they would be the ones to determine the number of hours they want power. We told them it was not possible." Attempts to speak to the spokesperson in the brigade proved abortive. However, a soldier attached to the brigade confirmed the attack to our correspondent on the telephone but major Musa, however, denied leading soldiers to attack the electricity workers.