The recent disconnection of electricity supply to the entire Passo Community in Gwagwalada Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, by the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), allegedly carried out with the active presence and support of officers of the Nigeria Police Force, raises serious constitutional, statutory, and human rights concerns that must not be ignored in a democratic society governed by the rule of law.
This action, in my considered opinion, is illegal, arbitrary, and ultra vires, both on the part of AEDC and the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) who deployed armed police officers to accompany AEDC staff for the purpose of disconnecting electricity supply to an entire community.
1. ULTRA VIRES CONDUCT OF THE DPO UNDER THE POLICE ACT, 2020
The powers and duties of the Nigeria Police Force are clearly outlined under Section 4 of the Police Act, 2020, which provides that the police shall:
“prevent and detect crime, apprehend offenders, preserve law and order, protect life and property, and enforce all laws and regulations.”
Nowhere in the Police Act, 2020, is the police empowered to enforce civil debts, assist private utility companies in revenue collection, or provide coercive support for the disconnection of essential services.
The deployment of police officers to accompany AEDC staff for mass disconnection of electricity supply to Passo Community is therefore outside the scope of lawful police duties and amounts to acting ultra vires, that is, beyond the powers conferred by law.
The courts have consistently condemned this practice. In McLaren v. Jennings (2003) 3 NWLR (Pt. 808) 470, the Court of Appeal held that:
The police have no business in the enforcement of civil claims or debt recovery.
Similarly, in IGP v. Ubah (2014) 1 NWLR (Pt. 1389) 1, the Supreme Court strongly deprecated the use of police officers to intimidate citizens in civil disputes, describing such conduct as an abuse of power.
2. ILLEGAL USE OF POLICE FOR CIVIL ENFORCEMENT
Electricity billing, metering disputes, and alleged indebtedness are purely civil and contractual matters governed by the Electric Power Sector Reform Act (EPSRA), 2005 and regulated by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
By lending the coercive powers of the state to AEDC, the police compromised their constitutional neutrality and violated the principle of separation between civil obligations and criminal enforcement.
This conduct also offends Section 35 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), which guarantees personal liberty and freedom from unlawful intimidation and harassment.
3. UNLAWFUL MASS DISCONNECTION AND COLLECTIVE PUNISHMENT
The disconnection of an entire community from electricity supply amounts to collective punishment, a practice unknown to Nigerian law and inconsistent with civilised legal standards.
Under Regulation 10 of the NERC (Connection and Disconnection) Regulations, 2016, a Distribution Company (DisCo) is prohibited from disconnecting electricity supply:
Without proper notice;
Without resolving billing disputes;
Or as a punitive measure against consumers who have raised legitimate complaints.
Furthermore, NERC Customer Protection Regulations, 2023 expressly prohibit arbitrary disconnection where service delivery has not met the prescribed service band standards.
4. BAND B FRAUD AND FAILURE OF SERVICE DELIVERY
Passo Community has consistently experienced grossly inadequate electricity supply, receiving as little as 7 hours of electricity in an entire week, contrary to the minimum of 18 hours per day required under Band B classification, as stipulated by NERC’s Service-Based Tariff (SBT) framework.
Charging consumers on Band B tariff rates without delivering the corresponding hours of supply constitutes:
Unfair trade practice;
Economic exploitation;
A breach of regulatory obligations.
The refusal or restriction of AEDC staff from distributing electricity bills within Passo Community did not arise from lawlessness, but from legitimate protest against chronic under-supply, fraudulent billing, and regulatory non-compliance.
The law is settled that one cannot benefit from his own wrongdoing. AEDC cannot fail in its statutory duty to supply electricity and at the same time seek police assistance to punish consumers for resisting exploitation.
5. VIOLATION OF THE RIGHT TO HUMAN DIGNITY AND ECONOMIC LIFE
Electricity is no longer a luxury; it is an essential service tied to human dignity, health, education, and economic survival.
The mass disconnection of Passo Community:
Disrupted small businesses;
Jeopardised healthcare and learning;
Subjected residents to undue hardship.
This action is inconsistent with Section 34 of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees the right to human dignity, and Nigeria’s obligations under international human rights instruments to which it is a signatory.
CONCLUSION AND CALL FOR ACCOUNTABILITY
The illegal disconnection of electricity supply to Passo Community, facilitated by police officers acting outside their lawful mandate, represents a dangerous precedent that threatens civil liberties and undermines public confidence in law enforcement institutions.
I therefore call for:
Immediate restoration of electricity supply to Passo Community;
Investigation and sanction of the DPO involved for acting ultra vires;
Regulatory intervention by NERC to audit AEDC’s service delivery and tariff classification;
An end to the use of police officers for civil enforcement and corporate intimidation.
In a constitutional democracy, no authority is above the law, and the police must not be reduced to instruments of oppression in the hands of utility companies.
J. A. Ogundipe, Esq. AICMC, NILDS
Principal partner of;
J.A. Ogundipe & Co.
(OMOEKUN CHAMBERS)