By Emma Amaize, Editor, NDV

KWALE — Security operatives in Delta State have apprehended 15 residents over last Monday’s protest by the Ndokwa ethnic nationality to alert the Federal Government that the people have lived in darkness for 20 years, notwithstanding that the government-owned Okpai Independent Power Plant, which supplies electricity to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja and eight other states, is in their homeland.

The security officials also wounded some protesters and set ablaze several motorcycles belonging to residents who participated in the demonstration.

Sources told NDV that the police released some protesters after they paid various sums of money for bail.

Police didn’t collect money to release anybody — Edafe, PPRO

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Delta State Police Command, SP Bright Edafe, strongly debunked the claim that the police collected money to release any protester.

His words: “Nobody was released for money, please. Those arrested are to be charged in court. That is the directive of the Commissioner of Police.”

He also dismissed an allegation that the police set some protesters’ motorcycles ablaze, saying, “Firstly, the police did not burn motorcycles; the protesters had factions, and they attacked themselves.”

They collected N400,000 for bail — Ndokwa youth leader

An Ndokwa youth leader, who preferred anonymity, said, “Adoh Stanley, P. Venture, Adimali Endurance, Osuya Chukwunwike, Nzete Division, and Chineu are among those the police arrested.

“They were arrested in various locations, including one of the leaders named Stanley Adoh, who was arrested the next day at the Umuseti town hall.

“Our lawyer is making an effort to bail them out. However, some were released after they paid between N300,000 and N400,000 for bail. Mr. Stanley Adoh has been denied bail because of the non-payment of the N3 million demanded by the police. We hope that he will be arraigned in court on Monday (yesterday),” he said.

When asked why the peaceful demonstration descended into violence and led to the arrest of protesters and the use of tear gas, the youth leader replied, 

“The police started shooting tear gas at protesters to disperse them, but they left the spot and moved to another location before the anti-riot policemen arrived from Asaba and started shooting at random, destroying people’s motorcycles with armored vehicles and setting one on fire.”

A victim, who slept in a police cell for two days, last Wednesday, Peter, told NDV:

“I did not participate in the protest but drove to a newly opened hotel in Kwale, the headquarters of Ndokwa West Local Government Area, to collect money from the owner on June 16 (the day of the protest) when policemen savagely confronted and pounced on me.

“I deal in electronics; the owner of the hotel bought some electronics from me and owes me some money. On that day, I went there to see if he would give me part of the money because there was no market on that day.

“I drove my car to the hotel, and I met some soldiers with an army vehicle parked in front of the hotel. I greeted them, and they even asked me, ‘Anything for us? I said nothing, but I am coming. After parking my car inside the hotel, I emerged to greet the soldiers as the police team pulled up with their Hilux and Sienna cars.

“Many people fled when the police started chasing them, but I chose to stand with the soldiers because I did no wrong. However, one of them approached me, took hold of my waist, and claimed that I was among the demonstrators. Before I knew it, more people joined him, and they began beating me up after I said that I had only come out this evening.

“They used everything on me, including tear gas, a cutlass, and a battle axe. I’m not sure what I did to them, and I questioned whether someone had paid them to murder me because what they’re doing to me goes beyond the protest over the power outage. 

“A bystander who inquired as to why they were striking me with a battle axe was taken into custody.

“They pushed me into the Sienna vehicle after the beating. Inside the car, I noticed a lot of other people. After being carried to a junction, they motioned for us to descend, and we did. Before you know it, they asked us to return, so we did. They then transported us to the Ibusa Police Station.

“They transported us from Ibusa to the Rapid Response Squad before transferring us to the Asaba Police Headquarters.

“After two days in the cell, they collected N300,000 before releasing me on Wednesday.”

 Locals call on 

Oborevwori to step in

Residents said it was their right to protest and draw the government’s attention to the Ndokwa nation’s ongoing lack of electricity for roughly 20 years, and they urged Governor Oborevwori to step in.

“On June 16, 2025, Ndokwa sons and daughters came out to express our displeasure over the continued darkness in the land for more than 16 years, and I want to draw Governor Oborevwori’s attention to the inhumane treatment meted out,” stated Enete, an indigenous person.

“It is depressing to realize that, despite having a security force in Delta State that can use such weapons against peaceful demonstrators claiming their rights, kidnappings and herdsmen threats occur throughout the entire state.

“Why don’t these troops fight the criminals and return Delta State to its original purpose of being a land of milk and honey with immense peace and security?” 

“We urge His Excellency to stop the security forces in Delta State from using live ammunition against nonviolent demonstrators.

“You promised to protect us and promote development because we are your people. We look forward to your honoring this commitment, sir.

“Once more, we anticipate the unconditional release of those detained in Ndokwa land over the nonviolent demonstration, the cessation of ongoing arrests, and the acceleration of necessary measures to illuminate all communities in the Ndokwa nation, not just a portion of them. 

“Regardless of the provocations and inciting statements from the security forces under your command, the good people of the Ndokwa nation are awake and will not be deterred by any form of intimidation from continuing to demand their rights and privileges peacefully,” he declared.

Bone of contention

The federal government, since 2005, inaugurated the Okpai-Oluchi IPP in Ndokwa land, which generates 480 megawatts of electricity to serve Abuja and other states. It excluded the host communities.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo assured the people, who expressed their grievances, that they would not be left out.

The IPP was later upgraded to provide a functional 930 megawatts of electricity, with an understanding to increase the power supply to host communities from 50 megawatts to 100 megawatts. This extension would include host community beneficiaries from the entire Delta North Senatorial District of Delta State.”

Twenty years later, the government has not completed the Okpai IPP step-down electricity project. The Ndokwa communities remain in darkness, and apparently, the government placed no urgency on the execution of the step-down.

However, former President Muhammadu Buhari approved the extension of electricity to the communities, and the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) awarded a N4.2 billion contract in 2022 for the construction of a 132KV double circuit transmission line to improve electricity supply to the area.

 To date, there have been unexplained delays in executing the contract project.

The people are angry about the abandonment, and the reality that their leaders allegedly show little or no concern for the suffering of the masses incenses them even more.

That triggered the June 16 protest, which some Ndokwa leaders attempted to stop, but the youths resisted their overtures and went ahead.

Senator Nwoko, Ezechi’s involvement

Senator Ned Nwoko (Delta North senatorial district) and  Nnamdi Ezechi (Ndokwa/Ukwuani federal constituency) have separately advocated an investigation into the abandoned Okpai-Oluchi IPP expansion project since last year.

Ezechi disclosed that the contractor, Saipem Contracting Nigeria Limited, and Agip Oil Company abandoned the expansion project, which commenced in 2017, resulting in the dilapidation of the infrastructure.

The House of Representatives heard that there was ambiguity surrounding the project’s contract amount, casting doubt on accountability and transparency in its execution.

This, coupled with the reluctance of plant operators to push aggressively for the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) because of the instability and fluctuations associated with the national grid, led the House to initiate an investigation early in 2024.

In response to Ezechi’s motion, the House of Representatives also decided to look into the $38.7 million NNPC–NAOC Joint Venture Okpai Independent Power Plant project Phase II’s abandonment. It directed its Committee on Power to examine the project’s termination by its two contractors, Saipem Contracting Nigeria Limited (SCNL) and Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC).

The Ndokwa people have been marginalized for far too long, Senator Nwoko yelled in the Senate. He stated that the unexplained delays in Okpai IPP’s electricity step-down, which the people demanded during the June 16 protest, needed to be addressed.

 “Even though the Okpai Plant hosts several oil companies in its vicinity, including Nigeria Agip Oil Company, Sterling Exploration and Energy Production Company, Energia Limited, Midwestern Oil and Gas Limited, Pillar Oil Limited, Chorus Energy Limited, and more,” the senator claimed the residents of Ndokwa and the Delta North senatorial district have continued to lag significantly behind in terms of electricity supply.

 He went to see the Managing Director of Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and the Minister of Power to ask them to help expedite the project’s completion, which could provide light to the entire Delta North.

 Findings

There appear to be discrepancies in the contract awards, as the contractors reportedly demanded contract variations, which prompted a petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) regarding the project.

 The slowed-down step-down of electricity from the Okpai IPP to the Ndokwa communities is because of price variations and the contractors’ request for additional funding. 

This has led to significant delays in completing the project and its subsequent failure to step down power to the host communities. There is currently no funding to execute the step-down project.

Residents of the Ndokwa East, West, and Ukwuani local government areas have been protesting, demanding the promised electricity supply from the Okpai-Oluchi power plant. The local communities have not benefited from the Okpai IPP for almost 20 years it has operated.

It was unacceptable, according to Senator Nwoko, that the Okpai Power Plant, which has increased its capacity to 980 megawatts, was not providing its host communities with electricity.

 While in the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), he had stated that certain foreign investors were prepared to carry out the projects, but they needed certain assurances from the government of Delta State.

His words: “There are financiers who have expressed willingness to fund these projects. They only require guarantees to recover their investments over a 20- to 24-year period. Once those guarantees are in place, the projects will proceed.”

Nwoko’s approach and intention that the Delta State government should finance the step-down, since the federal government had failed, did not go well with the governor, Rt. Hon. Oborevwori. He claimed the senator did not discuss the matter with him before making it public.

 What ought to be done by Tinubu and Oborevwori

Governor Oborevwori, who joined the All Progressives Congress (APC) like Nwoko, ought to have realized by now that Senator Nwoko was pressured to speak in this manner because the Okpai step-down demands a sense of urgency in the Ndokwa communities and other towns in the Delta North senatorial district.

For a comprehensive briefing and comprehension of the complexities surrounding the expansion project and the Okpai IPP step-down, the governor should extend an invitation to Senator Nwoko and Rt. Hon. Ezechi, who represents Ndokwa/Ukwuani in the House of Representatives, his deputy, and the leaders of the protesters.

 Although Oborevwori had already instructed Sir Monday Onyeme, his deputy, to deal with the situation, and the deputy governor had met with representatives of the Benin City Distribution Electricity Company (BEDC), it didn’t seem like the issue was yet distribution.

The transmission component is at issue. The governor can then schedule a meeting with President Tinubu, along with Senator Nwoko and Rt. Hon. Ezechi, to fully familiarize Mr. President with the specifics after gaining a thorough grasp of the problems and what needs to be done.

 Given the significance of the step-down project, President Tinubu should conduct a thorough analysis of the problems and guarantee the prompt restart and completion of the electricity step-down to the host communities by directing the EFCC to promptly submit its findings for the required action and allocating the funds required to finish the project.

For too long, the Ndokwa nation has been deprived of electricity on their territory. It is an embarrassment to the federal government that they must protest on June 16, nearly two decades later, in order to get the government to notice the anomaly. 

President Tinubu should prioritize the completion of the transmission double circuit line from the Okpa IPP to distribute electricity to the host communities.

 Governor Oborevwori must instruct the police in his state to drop the charges against the protesters who were arrested for demanding their rights. Both the injured citizens and those whose motorcycles and other property were damaged during the protest should receive compensation from the state government.

Vanguard News