Perimeter fencing work around the AEDC’s substation in Maitama
The blackout followed an alleged encroachment on an Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) injection substation, where underground power cables were reportedly damaged during the construction of a perimeter fence.
Residents and officials told Daily Trust that the incident occurred on July 9 when individuals allegedly attempted to take over part of the substation’s land excavated within the facility, damaging buried electricity cables and triggering explosions that allegedly disrupted power supply across the district.
In a statement issued shortly after the incident, AEDC said it shut down supply from its C2 Maitama Substation following what it described as an invasion of the facility by suspected land grabbers.
The company alleged that the encroachment, which it said was led by an Assistant Director of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), resulted in extensive damage to critical electricity infrastructure.
According to AEDC, the destruction made it unsafe and technically impossible to continue electricity supply from the substation, which serves homes, businesses, diplomatic missions and government institutions in the highbrow district.
The electricity distribution company said it had petitioned the relevant authorities, insisting that both the substation and the land on which it is situated belong to the company.
In a subsequent statement issued last Sunday, AEDC said the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, had intervened in the matter.
The company said the minister had been fully briefed and was working with security agencies and other stakeholders to facilitate the protection of the substation and the restoration of electricity supply.
Despite the intervention, residents said power had yet to be restored more than 10 days after the incident.
Residents count losses
When Daily Trust visited the affected injection substation, residents alleged that the fence originally erected by AEDC to demarcate its property had been removed before another perimeter fence was constructed.
One of the residents, Isah Musa, said the contractor excavating the site accidentally struck underground power cables.
“The excavation triggered explosions on three occasions. After the third explosion, the labourer abandoned his equipment and fled,” he said.
He added that despite warnings from security personnel attached to the facility, the excavation continued.
Another resident, Abdulrahman Abdullahi, said the prolonged outage had made life increasingly difficult, particularly during the rainy season when solar power had become unreliable.
He lamented the rising cost of diesel, saying many residents could no longer afford to run generators.
“Diesel now sells for about N1,900 per litre. A friend has already spent nearly N300,000 on diesel and still has to ration generator use to about five hours daily,” he said.
According to him, several businesses, including hotels, are struggling to remain operational because of the cost of alternative power.
“Even Transcorp Hilton is affected. Imagine how much they are spending on diesel,” he said.
Abdullahi also criticised AEDC for failing to provide regular updates on efforts to restore electricity.
Another resident, Ahmad Idris, described the situation as unfair, saying an entire community should not suffer because of the actions of a few individuals.
He warned that many businesses could collapse if electricity was not restored soon.
A trader at the Maitama Farmers’ Market, Khalifa Abdullahi, claimed traders had lost more than N10 million because many of the goods sold in the market are perishable and require constant refrigeration.
He said many traders had no backup power because they were unaccustomed to prolonged outages.
“We were told that those digging the fence damaged an underground cable. More than 500 houses have been affected,” he said.
Efforts to get the reaction of the Executive Secretary of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), Engr Richard Dauda, proved abortive as calls and WhatsApp message to him were not responded to as of the time of filing this report
In the same vein, efforts to obtain a response from AEDC’s Head of Marketing and Corporate Communications, Omede Odekina, were equally unsuccessful, as he neither answered calls nor responded to text messages before press time.
