Crime
Exposed: It’s unlawful to pay EEDC for installation of donated transformers- NERC
Staff of the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission, the regulatory agency overseeing EEDC, Mr Emeka Odoemelam, has openly confessed to the Abia State House of Assembly that the power company has been exploiting the people.
The NERC representative was present when the Assembly summoned EEDC over issues affecting the distribution company and power consumers in the state.
Odoemelam posited that a situation where the Honourable Members in carrying out their social responsibilities donate transformers and are still charged extra money by EEDC Is unacceptable.
“It is our duty to ensure that customers are not exploited.”
He stunned the Assembly by announcing that there is a provision in the commission’s regulations which states that once you are contributing any asset to any Distribution Company, such donation should not be entirely free.
He advised the House to always engage the distribution company anytime they want to donate transformers because there should be some compensation for a donor which is a standard practice.
”As you donate, you should demand because it is your right to be compensated on the asset you are donating and that is what the Law says”, Mr Odoemelam exposed.
Reacting to a question from Hon Emeka Okoroafor, Member representing Isuikwuato State Constituency, if the EEDC was following the capping order as reached in an agreement sometime past, Odoemelam answered in the negative.
He said that service providers have not complied to the directive of the 2020 capping order which states that certain amount of kilowatts should be given to customers.
“They have not really complied to the directives but due to the Covid 19 pandemic, the agency was limited to traveling but that in the last few months, the commission has been going round the country trying to get information from customers to determine whether the service providers were fully in compliance with that order.”
He further said the result of that tour by the commission has not been so pleasant because they have seen some level of deviations from the regulations but that the commission doesn’t just take action on the service providers without having sufficient watertight information on their infractions, hence, the reason it seems they are not fast in wielding the big stick.
Mr Odoemelam stated that last week, they were in Umuahia to take customers complaints and to look at estimates. “Once the commission is done with field works, it will get the level of non-compliance, and necessary sanctions placed on the Distribution Company.”
He added that he is from Umuahia and “I can tell the house for free that even in my house the approved capping is not followed, but the commission, like I said earlier, we will follow up this logically and where they are found wanting, they will be sanctioned accordingly”, he said.
Mr Odoemelam said the Commission was also in Enugu three weeks ago and saw EEDC taking delivery of 18,000 meters from the 40,000 allocated to the region
Abia state house of assembly under the leadership of the speaker Rt.Hon. Engr Chinedum Enyinnaya Orji condemned the mode of operations of the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) in Abia State.
The house expressed displeasure with the way and manner the electricity distribution company has been conducting business in the state.
Speaker Rt.Hon Chinedum Enyinnaya Orji stated that EEDC officials were summoned as a result of the incessant complaints of citizens concerning the activities of the electricity company in Abia.
The Speaker further said Abians are bitterly complaining about lack of prepaid metres and the ever increasing sums from estimated bills charged Abians which he described as totally unacceptable to the 7th Abia State House of Assembly.
During the session the The Deputy Speaker, Rt Hon Ifeanyi Uchendu, also queried why a large part of his immediate constituency of Ohafia South has been in total blackout for months now.
Also collaborating what the deputy speaker said ,Hon Mandela Egwuronu Obasi, Member representing Ohafia North State Constituency on his part, asked why the EEDC is indirectly extorting Abians through high billings, demanding to know if the metres claimed to be primed for distribution in the State are for commercial or residential use because the company seems to channel their claws on commercial entities for extortion.
On his own part, Hon Ginger Onwusibe, Member representing Isiala Ngwa North State Constituency asked the EEDC official the plan of the company in metering rural areas which he said should be captured in the ongoing metering program.
He also wondered why someone would be expected to pay a huge amount of money for energizing a transformer even after donating it to a community but which eventually becomes the property of EEDC.
Hear him: “Why can’t your company appreciate such huge kind gestures, applaud the donor, energize the transformer then take whole possession of it”.
While responding to the plethora of issues raised by the Abia legislature, Mr Ozoezeh Onyebuchi, the Network Manager of Enugu Electricity Distribution Company stated that the company has installed over a thousand distribution substations at the cost of over N350,000,000. 00 (Three Hundred and Fifty Million Naira Only) in the last one year alone, and that installation of the substations was for the company to checkmate estimated billings.
He also said EEDC has installed 16,000 meters at the cost of over N800,000,000.00 (Eight Hundred Million Naira Only) in Abia State.
He added that the company has procured 3,000 meters that are currently being programmed and that their target is to meter all the customers in the State in due course.
Mr Ozoezeh was interrupted by the Abia speaker, who obviously not impressed by the EEDC team leader’s presentation.”You just told us what was installed, even with your explanations, that is still not clear. Between the last time we met and today, what has happened? What is new? Are there Metres for continued installation to the people? And how many customers do you have in Abia State? the Speaker asked.
Responding to this Mr Ozoezeh Onyebuchi said the company has 150,000 active customers in the State and that the available 3,000 metres are to be installed as part of progress in metreing the people.Also providing answers to the questions posed by the deputy speaker’s question, the EEDC representative adduced that Ohafia as the third largest commercial city in the State cannot be overlooked.
He said the issue of Ohafia was not solely the fault of EEDC, rather, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) should be held responsible for that. He further said the greatest challenge his company is experiencing in Ohafia Local Government Area was attacks from hoodlums because the company outfield engineers have been attacked and held hostage countless times while on duty in the area.
While also reacting to the questions raised by Hon Mandela Egwuronu Obasi, Member representing Ohafia North State Constituency on his part, asked why the EEDC is indirectly extorting Abians through high billings, demanding to know if the metres claimed to be primed for distribution in the State are for commercial or residential use because the company seems to channel their claws on commercial entities for extortion.Mr Ozoezeh said the meters are standardized and that the commercial metres are billed from source. He said the procured metres are for homes.
As a follow up to the questions raised by Hon.Mandela, Rt Hon Chikwendu Kalu, Member representing Isiala Ngwa South State Constituency, asked the Network Manager if the available 3,000 Metres were from the Federal Government or from EEDC.
Ozoezeh said the metres are from the Federal Government but that it is a kind of loan which the company will pay for later. He also said that metreing has been going on in Umuahia but that it is at minimal. He informed that the company planned to storm the State with the metres later this month.
Not happy with the EEDC official’s explanations and figures bandied as number of customers they have in the State, the Speaker said, “You are saying you have 53,000 customers in Umuahia, far more than you have in Aba; you can’t tell us you have less customers in Aba than Umuahia. I think you got your records wrong”, .
Mr Ozoezeh said the company has installed over a thousand distribution substation metres in the State, and that “as a matter of fact, in Umuahia District, we have metred over 80% of all all our transformers and we are also working with some rural areas even though most of them complain of high bills but we are working with them to bring down their consumption rate and energy management.
“About donations, the EEDC representative appreciated the Honourable Members especially the Speaker ,saying they have donated and installed countless number of transformers in their constituencies and beyond. He further added that these donations depend on the need for the transformers”.
The United States has said Nigeria has yet to make sufficient progress in addressing attacks on Christian communities, warning that the country’s designation as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) should remain in place.
Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Frank Garcia, stated this while responding to questions from US Congressman Riley Moore during a congressional hearing on violence in Nigeria on Thursday.
Moore questioned the Nigerian government’s efforts to dismantle militia strongholds and kidnapping camps in the Middle Belt, particularly in Benue and Plateau states.
He also demanded explanations for the exclusion of Benue and Plateau from the 10 states covered by Nigeria’s new forest guard initiative, despite persistent attacks in the areas.
The congressman further expressed concern that 1,000 presidentially approved forest guards for Plateau State had yet to be deployed.
Moore maintained that the US should not remove Nigeria from the CPC list, arguing that the country had not done enough to address the violence.
“Before you answer that, we cannot take this CPC designation off of this country. They have not done enough,” he said.
Responding, Garcia acknowledged that Nigeria had not made sufficient progress but maintained that the government was taking steps to address the concerns, although the measures had yet to produce the desired results.
“I think we would agree, as Under Secretary Hooker stated, after our CPC meeting that progress has not been there, but that doesn’t mean that Nigeria is dismissing concerns, and it doesn’t mean that they’re not taking actions, but it does mean that it hasn’t had an impact to this point,” Garcia said.
He identified the establishment of the US-Nigeria Joint Working Group as an important step towards ensuring accountability, noting that the platform would provide a framework for monitoring Nigeria’s commitments and assessing their implementation.
Garcia also acknowledged US-supported counterterrorism operations in the Lake Chad Basin but noted that such efforts had not necessarily addressed the activities of Fulani militants operating across the Middle Belt.
“I would have to characterise the Nigerians’ placement at this point as in building capacity. And that capacity is not deployed, is not being effective yet, and is not moving fast enough, as far as I’m concerned. But we do see a seriousness, and a deployment underway with the Nigerian government,” he said.
In his prepared testimony, Garcia said President Donald Trump’s administration had prioritised the persecution of Christians in Nigeria since the country was redesignated a Country of Particular Concern on October 31, 2025.
He noted that attacks had continued despite diplomatic engagements, citing an attack on a Christian community in Kaduna State on July 27 and killings in Plateau State in August and September.
“Unfortunately, the violence has not stopped,” Garcia said, describing the attacks as an ongoing atrocity.
According to him, the US-Nigeria Joint Working Group, which held its inaugural meeting in Abuja in January and another meeting in Washington in August, had been engaging the Nigerian government on improved security deployments in vulnerable Middle Belt communities, faster responses to early warnings and accountability for perpetrators.
He added that Washington had provided training and equipment to police units responsible for protecting vulnerable communities through its Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.
The US had also expanded biometric information-sharing with Nigeria to help identify and prosecute perpetrators and engaged Nigerian financial institutions on measures to disrupt terrorist financing networks allegedly funding attacks on churches.
Garcia further disclosed that US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Allison Hooker, had raised concerns about civilian casualties, the safe and voluntary return of internally displaced persons and transparency in humanitarian aid delivery during the Joint Working Group’s second meeting.
However, he acknowledged that Nigeria’s security architecture remained stretched, while judicial access to some parts of the Middle Belt remained limited.
Garcia said the US would continue to deploy diplomatic engagements, the CPC designation and targeted security cooperation to press for the protection of Christian communities and accountability for those responsible for attacks.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Federal Government has consistently rejected allegations of a Christian genocide or systematic religious persecution, maintaining that the country’s security challenges are driven by broader issues, including terrorism, banditry, communal violence and resource conflicts, which affect citizens of different religious backgrounds.
Couple Sentenced To Five Years In Prison Each For Attempting To Sell One-Year-Old So
A Nigerian couple have been sentenced to five years’ imprisonment each for attempting to sell their one-year-old son for exploitation in Cross River State.
The couple, identified as 28-year-old Emmanuel Okechukwu Ogbodo and 22-year-old Peace Ufeabuchi Nnamonu, were convicted by the Federal High Court in Calabar after pleading guilty to conspiracy and attempted child trafficking.
The convicts were sentenced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, after they were arraigned on November 3, 2026, on a two-count charge bordering on conspiracy and attempted child trafficking.
The charges were brought under Sections 27 and 29 of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015.
Delivering judgment, Justice Rosemary Dugbo Oghoghorie sentenced each defendant to five years’ imprisonment for conspiracy and two and a half years for attempted child trafficking.
However, the court ordered that the sentences should run concurrently, meaning the couple will each spend a total of five years in prison rather than serve the sentences consecutively.
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), which announced the conviction in statements shared on its Facebook and X accounts, said the prison terms would take effect from the date of the couple’s arrest.
NAPTIP condemned the couple’s actions and reiterated its commitment to prosecuting human trafficking offences and protecting vulnerable persons, particularly children.
The agency also urged members of the public to report suspected cases of child trafficking to the appropriate authorities.
Six fresh graduates of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), have reportedly been found dead in an apartment around the Hilltop area of the university community in Enugu State.
The incident, which occurred on Thursday morning, has thrown the university community into mourning and sparked panic among residents and students.
According to a report by Daily Post, the victims, comprising five females and one male, were said to have graduated on Wednesday, a day before their bodies were discovered.
Their graduation celebration has reportedly turned into tragedy, with the circumstances surrounding their deaths yet to be established.
Efforts to reach the Enugu State Police Public Relations Officer, Daniel Ndukwe, for confirmation were unsuccessful, as calls put through to his telephone were not answered.
Meanwhile, anxiety has gripped the Hilltop area and the wider university community, with students and residents seeking answers over the tragic incident.
As of the time of filing this report, the police had yet to issue an official statement on the incident.
Security agencies have launched a manhunt for two convicted inmates who escaped from the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Okene, Kogi State.
The Nigerian Correctional Service confirmed the incident, which reportedly occurred on Sunday, November 8, 2026, saying efforts were underway in collaboration with other security agencies to recapture the fleeing inmates.
The Service’s Public Relations Officer, Chief Superintendent of Corrections Jane Osuji, disclosed this in a statement issued on Tuesday.
According to Osuji, the Controller-General of Corrections has ordered a comprehensive investigation into the incident to establish the circumstances surrounding the escape and identify any possible security breaches.
She explained that the investigation would examine potential lapses in the facility’s security arrangements and determine appropriate measures to prevent a recurrence.
The correctional authorities assured members of the public that all necessary steps were being taken to track down the escapees and return them to custody.
The Service also pledged to provide further updates as verified information emerges from the ongoing investigation.
The incident comes weeks after an awaiting-trial inmate escaped from the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Auchi, Edo State, where he was being held over allegations of conspiracy and stealing.
Saudi Arabia has executed five Ethiopian nationals convicted of smuggling hashish into the kingdom, bringing the number of executions carried out in the country this year to 205.
The Saudi Interior Ministry announced the executions on Thursday, November 5, 2026, saying the five men were found guilty of participating in the smuggling of hashish into the country.
According to a statement published by the official Saudi Press Agency, the executions were carried out in the Asir region in southwestern Saudi Arabia.
The latest executions bring to 32 the number of Ethiopian nationals put to death in Saudi Arabia in 2026, making Ethiopians the largest foreign nationality among those executed this year.
Five Ethiopians were reportedly executed in June, while another five were put to death in July over similar drug-related offences.
The latest development comes amid growing international concern over Saudi Arabia’s increasing use of capital punishment, particularly against foreign nationals convicted of drug-related offences.
Human Rights Watch (HRW), in a report published in July, warned that at least 79 Ethiopian nationals remained at imminent risk of execution over similar charges.
The rights organisation also raised concerns about alleged violations of fair trial guarantees, including inadequate access to legal representation and interpretation services for some Ethiopian migrants facing capital punishment.
Saudi Arabia recorded 356 executions in 2025, its highest annual figure on record.
Thousands of Ethiopians live and work in Saudi Arabia, many of whom migrate in search of employment through the dangerous Eastern Route connecting the Horn of Africa to the oil-rich kingdom through Yemen.
The route exposes migrants to serious security and humanitarian risks during their journey.
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