…Benue govt demands apology, says allegation baseless

The Jos Electricity Distribution (JED) has accused thugs allegedly acting on behalf of the Benue State Government of invading its Makurdi Office, assaulting and abducting its staff over the disconnection of the Government House.

In a statement by Saratu Dauda, Public Relations Officer JED, quoted the management of JED PLC as saying, the incident occurred at about 1:17 p.m. on Wednesday, October 21, when about 50 persons who identified themselves as Benue youths allegedly sent by the State Government forcefully gained access to its Benue State Office.

According to the DisCo, the youth confronted the management team over operational issues, including the illegal connection of the Government House to a refurbished 2MVA 33/11kV transformer supplying the State House of Assembly and the Government House.

“During the incident, the youth forced their way into the office, assaulted and molested our members of staff and further abducted 10 personnel, took out 4 vehicles and various technical working tools. The affected personnel and properties were released at about 5:45 p.m, following the forceful reconnection of the transformer. Unfortunately, the incident also created serious injuries to several other members of staff,” JED management stated.

The company said a similar incident was reported on September 3, 2026, when its staff on routine check were held hostage at the Government House following the detection of a meter bypass on the premises. The staff, it said, were forced to reconnect the bypassed meter before being released.

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It added that the latest incident had been escalated to relevant security agencies.

But, in a swift reaction, the Benue State Government strongly rejected the allegations, describing them as baseless, defamatory, reckless and unacceptable.

A statement by Solomon Iorpev, the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, noted that the Government demanded immediate retraction and apology from JED PLC.

“The claims that the State Government sanctioned acts of violence, abduction, or illegal electricity connections are reckless, unfounded, and unacceptable,” the government said.