By Sunmola Olowookere

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Benin Electricity Distribution Company, BEDC has been ordered by an Akure High Court to pay a sum of N9 million as damages to an Ondo State High Court Judge, Justice Olusegun Odusola for the emotional and psychological trauma the company caused him .
Delivering the judgement, Justice Samuel Bola declared that the estimated electricity bills imposed on the judge every month from 2016 to 2018 by the company were arbitrary and contrary to the provisions of regulation 2(3) of the Nigeria Electricity Regulation Commission (Methodotogy for Estimated Billing) Regulations, 2012 and thereby unlawful.
He further issued a declaration that the defendant is not entitled to the sum of N289, 170,89 or any sum at all as outstanding bill from Justice Odusola who is the Claimant on or before the 23rd of March, 2020
The judge ruled that the action of the defendant in deducting N8,032.5k as debt from the money paid each time the claimant purchased credit from the defendant was unlawful and oppressive.
In view of the above the court declared that N5 million be paid as general damages for emotional and psychological trauma and disturbance suffered as a result of the activities of the defendant, N3 million for exemplary damages and one million naira for the cost of the suit.
He also issued an order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendant and its agents, servants and officers from demanding for any outstanding balance from the claimant in respect of the action.
Justice Olusegun Odusola had dragged BEDC to court over arbitrary billings and failure to install a prepaid meter at his property.
According to the claimant’s counsel, Omosola Odusola, the suit was filed in May, 2020 after series of letters to the respondent, BEDC that were not responded to.
Odusola said that there were moves for settlement out of court, his clients would only settle if BEDC would agree that there was no issue of debt and would also compensate them for all the monies spent on the issue so far.
However, the settlement move failed and the court had moved on to determine the case.
Odusola said that they had written letters to Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission and following summons by NERC, the company had agreed to wave the debt and had installed a prepaid meter as requested by his client at his residence.
He disclosed that after a year, BEDC brought back the old debt that had been cancelled running up to N287, 000.