Yemisi Izuora
A Tinubu magistrate court in Lagos Island has sentenced one Femi Adeleke, 32 to a six month imprisonment for assaulting a staff member of Eko Electricity Distribution Company when the latter was on his official duties at the accused residence at 3, Saliu Aina Street, Maroko, under the Lekki Business District of the power utility company.
According to the charge sheet, the offence was committed on 20th 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 the charge, upon discovering that the house was owing, an order for disconnection was given by the team leader whereupon the accused beat up 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.
Confirming the incident, the Divisional Police Officer for Agbara, Omotayo Adegbite, a Chief Superintendent of Police, said while the police were still on the trail on others still at large, the main offender who was already in police custody, would soon be arraigned in court.
Commenting on the incident, spokesman for Eko Disco, Mr. Gowin Idemudia decried the spate of violent attack on the company’s staff on lawful duties. He said the company would employ all lawful means to protect the interest of its workers and ensure that those who take the law into their hands to violently harass its staff would not go unpunished.
He advised anybody having any complaint against any member of staff to employ appropriate channels to lodge such complaints rather than resorting to violent physical attack.