The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) has opted for an out of court settlement with a businessman, Jerry Okolo, who took the agency to court for illegal billing.
The two parties informed an Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Gudu, of the development when the case came up on Wednesday, March 10, 2021.
Okolo and his landlord, Abimaje Ebute, had sought the court to compel AEDC to pay them the sum of N10 million as general damages for the alleged illegal and unlawful actions of the defendant (AEDC), N5 million as damages for inconveniences and losses incurred by them and N500,000 as cost of prosecuting the suit.
In their statement of claim, the duo alleged that the defendant had been sending an estimated electricity bill to the house located at FHA, Lugbe, Abuja, since 2014, although the house had been mostly deserted since 2018 when Okolo was transferred out of Abuja.
Okolo said the bills kept coming even after he wrote to the defendant that the estimated billing should be stopped and a pre-payment meter installed. He added that whenever he visited the house, which was every quarterly, he met new bills, with one of them as high as N23,814.39 in one month.
He informed the court that the electricity supply to the house was eventually disconnected in August 2019, after months of non-payment from him and was reconnected after a sum of N5,000 was paid as re-connection fee. On December 24, 2019, a pre-payment meter was finally installed, he added.
Okolo stated that as at the December date, the AEDC bill had reached N171,000.00, which was the accumulated bills for the period he was disconnected from electricity supply. He explained that in furtherance to the alleged indebtedness, every time he made purchases of electricity token from the defendant, 60 per cent of the amount is deducted by way of payment for the alleged N171,000 debt.
He said it was this continual deduction that necessitated the suit and damages he incurred when his things got destroyed due to the disconnection while he was away.
However, when the matter which was slated for report of settlement before Justice Modupe Osho-Adebiyi came up, the claimants’ counsel, Frank Nnaba, informed the court that parties were discussing possibility of settlement, but were yet to conclude.
He, therefore, prayed for an adjournment to enable parties have enough time to conclude on terms of settlement.
The defence counsel, Ifeanyi Aborgu, on his part aligned with the submission of Nnaba.
The judge accordingly adjourned the matter until April 27, for report of settlement or hearing in the event that parties do not reach an agreement.
(Additional information from NAN)