Benue government and JED argue over attack on electricity staff

The Benue State Government and Jos Electricity Distribution Plc (JED) are in a heated exchange over an alleged attack on JED workers and the invasion of its office in Makurdi.

The state government, through the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Solomon Iorpev, said on Thursday that JED’s claim about about 50 people invading its office on Wednesday was wrong. JED had said these people were Benue youths who were acting on the government's orders.

JED stated that the attack happened because of a disagreement over connecting the Government House to a refurbished 2MVA 33/11kV transformer. This transformer supplies power to the Government House and the State House of Assembly.

The company accused the group of attacking its staff, abducting 10 workers, taking four vehicles, and seizing technical equipment. JED said that the affected personnel and items were released around 5:45 p.m. after reconnecting the transformer.

However, the state government said these claims are baseless. It demanded that JED take back its statement that the government allowed violence.

In its response, the government pointed out that the use of the word "allegedly" by JED showed that there was no solid proof linking the state to the incident. It also accused JED of making unproven claims without providing names or other solid evidence.

The government urged security agencies to carry out a fair and open investigation into the claims of abduction, assault, and injuries.

The state government also dismissed JED’s account of a separate incident that happened on September 3. JED claimed that its workers were held at the Government House after finding a meter bypass on the premises.

JED alleged that its staff were made to reconnect the bypassed meter before they were let go. The company said the issue is still not settled despite reaching out to state government officials several times.

The government called JED’s mention of the September incident misleading. It challenged JED to show records of the communications it said it had with state officials.

On the matter of the transformer and metering, the government stated that these issues should be resolved through the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and, if needed, through the courts.

The government insisted that all rules and safety standards for electricity operations should apply to both JED and its customers, including public institutions.

The government also accused JED of making careless statements before the investigations into the incidents were done. It described JED’s allegations as suspicious but did not give proof to back its claim that the statements aimed to damage the government’s image.

The government demanded JED to retract the claim that it allowed violence, take back claims of illegal connections, and apologize to the government and the people of Benue State.

It warned that it might take legal action if JED keeps spreading what it called false information.

JED, in its earlier statement, said it had reported the incident to the relevant security agencies. The company said it would work with the investigations to find out what really happened and avoid it happening again.

JED also mentioned that actions regarding transformer energization and metering issues must follow the rules and safety standards.

Though both sides showed support for working together and following the regulations, their statements told different stories about the incidents and the alleged involvement of state officials.

As of Thursday, there was no update on the outcome of the security investigation into the alleged attack or who organized the group that entered JED’s Makurdi office.