CJN seeks tougher sanctions to check electricity-related deaths, injuries

Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, has stated that the judiciary indispensable rigorously enforce information regulations successful the energy assemblage pursuing the nonaccomplishment of 112 Nigerians successful 2024 to electrical hazards. 

This comes arsenic the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) urged the limb of authorities to safeguard the manufacture from collapse, noting that incorrect judgement whitethorn hamper existent reforms and concern successful the sector. 

Speaking astatine the opening of the 2025 National Seminar connected Regulations successful the Electricity Power Sector for Judicial Officers successful Abuja, the stakeholders emphasised the captious relation of the judiciary successful safeguarding the translation of the nation’s energy assemblage amid sweeping reforms to reshape its regulatory and operational landscape.

Kekere-Ekun said the energy assemblage stands astatine a important turning point, adding that decentralised renewable energy, off-grid solutions, and a dual energy marketplace model were redefining the industry.

“Our relation extends good beyond quality resolution. We indispensable construe legislation, uphold law mandates, and guarantee justness is administered equitably successful a assemblage undergoing accelerated change,” she said.
 
The CJN underlined that judicial interpretations would progressively service arsenic precedents influencing capitalist confidence, regulatory consistency, and the extortion of user rights. 

She said NERC’s caller report, which recorded 112 electricity-related deaths and 95 injuries successful 2024 alone, indispensable pb to the enforcement of information regulations successful the sector.

The main judicial serviceman added: “The information of our citizens indispensable ne'er beryllium treated arsenic incidental. It is simply a ineligible and motivation imperative.” Also speaking, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, lauded the judiciary’s important relation successful ensuring the occurrence of reforms introduced by the Fifth Alteration to the Constitution and the Electricity Act, 2023. 

The amendments devolved energy powers to authorities governments, allowing them to modulate generation, transmission, and organisation wrong their territories.

“The judiciary indispensable beryllium swift and informed successful the determination of electricity-related disputes to support capitalist assurance and guarantee uninterrupted work delivery,” Fagbemi said.

He described the Electricity Act 2023 arsenic a “transformative milestone” that not lone offers important opportunities but besides presents ineligible complexities requiring cautious judicial interpretation. 

NERC’s Vice Chairman, Musiliu Oseni, harped connected continuous judicial engagement, noting that past judicial pronouncements person importantly impacted the sector’s growth. He explained however ex parte orders and rulings had erstwhile paralysed NERC’s regulatory activities and weakened capitalist confidence.