A community rights advocate, Princewill Okorie, has asked the Inspector General of Police, Olatunji Disu, to establish anti-electricity crime units at the force headquarters and across all states of the federation.
Mr Okorie, who is the Executive Director of the Association for Public Policy Analysis (APPA) and its affiliate, Electricity Consumer Protection Advocacy Centre (ECPAC), also asked Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State to guarantee his safety as he works to ensure enforcement of the Imo State Electricity Law.
He made the call at a press briefing in Abuja on Friday, where he alleged that staff of Transpower Electricity Distribution Limited, a subsidiary of the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) serving Imo State, have threatened his life.
Mr Okorie said he has endured a month of traumatising attacks over his advocacy.
He said the first incident occurred at about 6:30 a.m. on 28 September at his country home in Ohohea, Nbiri, in Mbaitoli Local Government Area.
According to him, two Transpower staff arrived with seven armed men, four of whom entered his sitting room and insisted on taking him away.
He said when he demanded a warrant of arrest or police invitation, none was produced. The men reportedly claimed they were from Zone 9 police headquarters in Umuahia, but did not confirm whether they had reported to the Imo State Police Command.
Mr Okorie said the timing was striking because he was due that same day at noon to appear before a police committee investigating a petition he submitted to Governor Uzodimma on 29 June over alleged electricity crimes by the company’s staff.
He said the governor minuted the petition and directed the Commissioner of Police to investigate, noting that the committee is led by ACP Linus, commander of the X Squad.
He said the attempted abduction failed after community youths intervened when he refused to go without proof of legal authority.
The second incident, he said, happened on 2 October at the premises of the Imo State Electricity Regulatory Commission (ISERC), where the commissioner in charge of consumer affairs had convened a meeting with forum members.
He alleged that two persons brought by the company stormed the hall and moved to attack him, but were stopped by those who came with him.
He said they later barricaded the gate and threatened to pick him up as he left, but his supporters resisted them.
Mr Okorie said the company shunned the 28 September police meeting, claiming it had lost confidence in the Imo State Police Command, and took its complaint to Zone 9. He said he also petitioned Zone 9 and the IGP.
He said ISERC wrote to the police confirming that his allegations were backed by regulatory provisions and rejected an appeal filed by the company.
According to him, the regulator said it would not hear the appeal until the company complied with its 5 March 2025 ruling on the collective disconnection of electricity in Ahoya town, Mbaitoli Local Government Area.
He alleged that the company cut off the entire town five days after that order, leaving residents in darkness from March 2025 to January 2026.
Mr Okorie also cited an incident on 24 August, when three Transpower staff were allegedly caught in Ohoya community disconnecting consumers without notice.
He said they collected money through POS terminals without bills, receipts or meters, demanding N20,000 from each consumer before reducing it to N14,600 after residents protested.
He said the Divisional Police Officer in Ngeri asked that the staff be brought to the station, which they agreed to only after residents protested. On the way, he alleged, the staff turned violent and attacked a young man from the community, who injured one of them in self-defence.
He stated that the matter was recorded as conduct capable of causing a breach of public peace and transferred to the state command the same day.
Mr Okorie said two days later the Special Intelligence Division invited him to write a statement over an assault allegation. He protested to the Commissioner of Police, who withdrew the case from the division and merged it with the governor’s directive, handing both to a five-member panel headed by ACP Linus Nwiu.
He said he has learnt that the company has filed a suit at the Imo State High Court, dated 8 October, in which he is the main respondent. Other defendants include the Imo State Commissioner of Police, the IGP, ISERC and its commissioner in charge of consumer affairs.
He said he had not been served as of 16 October and suspects an attempt to ambush him or proceed with the case behind his back.
Mr Okorie said ISERC records show about 78 cases of consumer rights abuses in Imo as of March 2026 in which the regulator ruled, but the company has yet to comply.
He added that company officials admitted at the police station that they had applied for a licence but were not yet fully licensed.
He said the IGP should immediately set up anti-electricity crime units similar to existing anti-kidnapping units, noting that the Imo case could serve as a study for other states.
He cited communities in Edo said to owe BEDC N1.056 billion and communities in Akwa Ibom said to owe about N80 million for being without power from 2019 to 2025.
He warned that if regulators cannot enforce their orders and the police are not empowered to investigate and prosecute electricity crimes, state electricity markets could become havens for extortion and exploitation.
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“I deserve safety. I deserve security. This work must be done. I’m not giving up on this job,” he said.
ISERC, police react
When contacted by phone, the Chairman of ISERC, Bede Opara, said the commission’s role is regulatory and that it examines issues dispassionately.
He said it condemns wrongdoing by providers and communities alike and expects its orders to be obeyed, adding that it does not take sides in family or community disputes.
Mr Opara said the commission had written several letters on the matter, all of which are with Mr Okorie, and that its positions on the attack on him and his dealings with the police were put in writing.
He said the commission does not go into matters outside its jurisdiction.
Also contacted, the Imo State Commissioner of Police, Audu Garba Bosso, confirmed that a petition was received and that he had set up a committee to investigate it.
He said the committee was still at work and he was awaiting its report.
