By Sarah NEGEDU
The Department of Development Control in the FCTA is threatening legal action against the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, AEDC, over allegations that its officials attempted to seize part of the utility firm’s C2 Maitama substation.
The department also demanded the withdrawal of the allegations and an unreserved public apology, describing the claims contained in AEDC’s July 10 public announcement as “defamatory, misleading and malicious.”
A recent statement by the Acting Director of the Department, Tpl. Bashir Sunusi, maintained that the officials visited the site on July 8 after receiving a complaint from a Certificate of Occupancy holder who alleged that access to his property had been blocked.
According to the department, surveyors and district officers were deployed to determine the exact boundaries of the property and establish whether there had been any encroachment on the electricity substation.
The department maintained that its officials neither damaged nor tampered with any electricity installation during the exercise, contrary to claims made by AEDC.
It also denied responsibility for the power disruption reported after the incident, insisting that electricity supply remained intact when its team left the site.
The statement further claimed that AEDC’s Chief Operating Officer, Engr. Blessing Ogwe, invited officials of the department to a meeting after the inspection but failed to attend, despite the team waiting at the company’s office from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m.
The department said the allegations against one of its Assistant Directors, Mr. Chinedu Okoro, were intended to tarnish the reputation of its personnel and would not stop it from carrying out its statutory responsibilities.
“We state unequivocally that no amount of cheap blackmail, media intimidation, or malicious publication will deter this Department from carrying out its statutory responsibility of enforcing orderly development and protecting the right of its citizens’ access to land in the FCT,” the statement said.
The department advised AEDC to channel any dispute over land ownership through the appropriate authorities instead of resorting to public accusations.
“If the AEDC has any legitimate claims on land disputes, the proper channel is to present their title documents to the Honorable Minister of the FCT—who holds the sole statutory authority over land allocations in the FCT—rather than resorting to cyber-bullying and corporate thuggery,” the statement added.
The department demanded that AEDC withdraw the publication from all online platforms and publish an unreserved apology in major national newspapers.
It warned that failure to do so would leave the department and the affected officials with “no option but to seek full legal redress for defamation of character.”
