MEET THE STAFF SERIES

The Legal Department Provides Guidance to The Company on Regulatory Issues -ZIYAD UMAR AHMED

CCD: Please can we know You and your position in this company?

ZA: My names are Ziyad Umar Ahmed. I am a lawyer by profession. I am currently employed as a legal officer at the Company’s Head Office.

CCD: What exactly are your responsibilities?

ZA: My responsibilities includes but not limited to providing Secretarial services to the Company. This entails sending out notices of statutory meetings and management Committee meetings, as well as taking minutes of such meetings. I also work with the Company Secretary to file and review Agreements between the Company and third parties. The Company Secretariat also files annual returns of the Company at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).

CCD: One of the major problems of this company today is vandalism of power supply assets, meter bypass/theft and other related electricity offences; we are aware that many culprits where convicted and many cases are pending in court, can you brief us on the recent determined cases  and the position of those pending?

ZA: Vandalism, energy thefts, as well as outright theft of Company resources are huge problems bedeviling the Company.  The Company have had some successes prosecuting culprits. One of such is a case of theft of our cables in Igabi Local Government Area that rendered several communities without power for several months. Through collaboration between the Company and security agents, the culprits were arrested and taken to Court. Items recovered from the culprits included six rolls of aluminum cables, a commercial bus the culprits used to convey the stolen cables and instruments used to vandalize our assets. Five suspects including the receiver of the stolen items were arraigned in court, and owing to the overwhelming evidence against the suspects, they all pleaded guilty. The Court convicted all of them and sentenced them to prison terms ranging from three to fourteen years in jail without the option of fine, so as to serve as a deterrence to others. Also as damages, seven hundred and fifty thousand Naira cost was granted in favor of the Company. The stolen items were released to the Company and power supply was restored to the affected communities.

There are pending court cases and it will not be appropriate to comment on them until they are dispensed with by the various courts.

CCD: From a legal perspective, can we sue a customer for defaulting payment of electricity bills? If no, what is the available options?

ZA:  According to the NERC regulation, the Company can disconnect erring customers for non-payment of bills provided that:
I- payment date is clearly shown on the bill
2- payment date is at least ten working days from the date of delivery of the bill.
3- Payment date has not been superseded by a subsequent payment date.
4- Period between payment date and date of disconnection is not less than three months.
5- A disconnection notice has been issued to the erring customer.

However a customer can be disconnected without notice where:
1- A customer is connected to the network illegally
2- where the customer’s installation is dangerous to the health and integrity of the network or quality of supply to other customers
3- where a customer’s meter is inaccessible to be read for a period of three consecutive bills: provided that:
I-The the Company requests access and was denied.
2- A written warning was issued to the customer that on a particular date, if he fails to grant access, he shall be disconnected.

Furthermore, the Attorney General of the Federation inaugurated a Special Investigation and Prosecution Task Force on Electricity Offences (SIPTEO) to prosecute electricity offenses.

With respect to recovery of outstanding debt, the Company can institute a civil case against a   liquidated company or customer who is financially insolvent to demand for recovery of debt.

CCD: What would you say is your major challenges in carrying your responsibilities as a lawyer?

ZA: The challenges include customer ignorance of the law and lack of timely dispensation of pending cases in court.

CCD: Any appeal or suggestion to management or staff?

ZA:  My appeal to all staffs is that they enrich themselves with the legal requirements for disconnection so as not to create further problems for the Company. Customers are fun of filing cases in court to challenge their disconnection. It is therefore important that the proper guideline is adhered to when disconnecting a customer.

Also that staff should always refer to the legal department for legal advice.