- Three employees of ATC Nigeria Base Station in Ogijo were arraigned for diverting electricity worth N22.8 million from Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company.
- The defendants were granted bail of N7 million each, with a trial scheduled for January 2025.
Three individuals, 50-year-old Sikiru Oyedokun, 46-year-old Oladimeji Monsuru, and 33-year-old Abraham Ebenezer, were arraigned before the Ogun State Magistrate Court in Sagamu on Tuesday 10th December, 2024, facing charges related to the fraudulent appropriation of electricity. The suspects, ATC Nigeria Base Station employees in Ogijo, are accused of unlawfully diverting 165,033.18 kilowatt-hours of electricity, valued at N22,887,474.28. This electricity, owned by the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC), was allegedly diverted between September 17, 2019, May 5, 2022, and from August 3, 2023, to December 5, 2024, at Site ID: No. OG0061 in Ogijo, Ogun State.
The defendants were charged with two offences: fraudulent appropriation of electricity, which violates Section 516 of the Criminal Code of Ogun State, 2006, and unlawful diversion of electricity under Section 400. The charge sheet, which our correspondent saw, outlines the following allegations: “That you, Sikiru Oyedokun, Oladimeji Monsuru, Abraham Ebenezer, and others still at large, between September 17, 2019, and May 5, 2022, and from August 3, 2023, to December 5, 2024, at Site ID: No. OG0061, ATC Nigeria Base Station, Ogijo, Ogun State, unlawfully conspired to commit fraudulent appropriation of electricity, in violation of Section 516 of the Criminal Code laws of Ogun State.”
Additionally, the charge accuses the defendants of diverting a significant amount of electricity from IBEDC, valued at N22,887,474.28, to the ATC Nigeria Base Station, constituting unlawful power diversion under Section 400 of the Criminal Code.
The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against them. In their defence, their counsel appealed to the court to grant bail, emphasising that the accused are company employees and not its owners and should not be held personally liable for the alleged offence.
Magistrate Olayinka Idowu, presiding over the case, granted each defendant bail of N7 million. The court stipulated that each defendant must provide one surety, residing in Ogun State and owning landed property within the Sagamu Magisterial District. The surety must also provide proof of tax payment to the Ogun State government as part of the bail conditions.
The matter has been adjourned for trial on January 9 and 10, 2025. The court will continue to examine the details of the case and the evidence presented before making further decisions.