Residents of Isokan Phase I & II in Ayobo, Lagos are pushing back against claims by Ikeja Electric (IE) that illegal tampering caused the repeated failure of their community transformer.

Following months of blackout, the power distribution company blamed the outages on unauthorized interference with the transformer by locals. According to IE spokesperson Fadeke Olaniyi, the transformer had broken down twice, and both failures were allegedly due to residents tampering with the equipment.

“The transformer has packed up twice due to illegal tampering,” Olaniyi said, adding that community leaders were already warned about the consequences of such actions.

She also claimed that IE made several efforts to resolve billing issues through proper channels, but the residents chose illegal methods instead, making it hard to recover debts or maintain infrastructure.

However, community leaders and residents have strongly refuted these accusations, calling them false and misleading. The Community Development Association (CDA) Chairman, Ademola Orishatola, described IE’s explanation as a cover-up for their own failings.

“This is pure lies. The transformer they brought is substandard. If it were properly equipped, it would have had a circuit breaker to protect against high voltage,” he stated.

Other residents also dismissed the tampering claims, insisting that only IE officials access the transformer, mainly to carry out load shedding—rotating electricity supply among different streets because the transformer allegedly can’t handle full capacity.

“They do two days on, one day off. It’s their staff doing this, not residents,” one resident told Naija News anonymously.

The initial transformer broke down in December 2024, and though it was replaced in April 2025, it failed again within two months.

 Since then, locals say they’ve been forced to rely on expensive generators and inverters to power their homes and businesses.

Residents are calling on Ikeja Electric and relevant regulators to take full responsibility, end the blackouts, and stop what they describe as a blame game that’s worsening their suffering.

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has been contacted as pressure mounts for urgent and transparent resolution.