A report by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), a federal government-owned electric utility company, states that the Federal Government spent N29.3 billion on repairing 266 electricity towers damaged by vandals nationwide. These incidents occurred between January 2022 and October 2024, over 34 months, causing power unavailability and inaccessibility across the federation.
According to TCN’s monthly bulletin and news reports released on Monday, 266 power transmission towers were destroyed by vandals in various parts of the country.
The vandalism of transmission towers occurred in Abuja, Lagos, Kano, Enugu, Bauchi, Port Harcourt, and Benin regions. TCN contracts out the repairs of some of the vandalized towers while also deploying in-house engineers to work on others.
Further analysis of the report reveals that 90 towers were destroyed in 2022, representing a 23.3% increase to 111 towers in 2023. In the current year, electricity tower vandalism has occurred 65 times between January and October 27, 2024. In 2022, 21 towers on the 132kV Kano-Kankia transmission line two were destroyed, and 16 were damaged under the Kano-Kankia line one. Similarly, 19 towers on the Makurdi-Jos double circuit transmission line were vandalized, among other incidents.
In 2023, 15 towers on the 132kV Owerri-Ahaoda transmission line in Port Harcourt were damaged, and 13 towers on the 132kV Ahoada-Yenagoa transmission line were vandalized. Additionally, 122 earthen conductors, 244 galvanized bolts, nuts, and copper cable lugs were stolen from the remaining towers. fixing each vandalized tower will cost about N110 million
Among the notable incidents in the first ten months of 2024 was the collapse of Tower 388 on the 132kV Jos-Bauchi line in the Bauchi/Yelwa single circuit transmission line, as well as Towers 377 and 378 on the 330kV Gombe-Damaturu line along Bauchi/Gombe and Damaturu. Additional collapses were reported on the 330kV Damaturu-Maiduguri line, including Towers 125, 126, 193, 194, and 195.
The report also noted that in the Bauchi-Gombe area, towers 450, 452, 453, and 455 on the 132kV line were vandalized, and Tower 70 on the 330kV Gwagwalada-Katampe line in Abuja saw four of its footings destroyed. Vandals also removed tower members of the 330kV Jos-Gombe line from towers 288 to 291.
Despite improvements in power generation, vandalism continues to undermine these advancements, posing a challenge to the government’s ability to ensure a stable power supply across the country. This extensive damage has significantly impacted the electricity supply in the affected areas, as noted by officials from the TCN, which manages the nation’s power grid.
Just last week, the Association of Power Generating Companies reported that the national grid has collapsed 162 times in the last 11 years.
Meanwhile, TCN stated that it is collaborating with the Office of the National Security Adviser to repair the vandalized Shiroro-Kaduna line, which has led to a reduction of bulk electricity supply to Kaduna, Kano, and other major cities in the north. In an earlier statement, Ndidi Mbah, the General Manager of Public Affairs at TCN, mentioned that the company is working diligently to restore bulk power supply as quickly as possible despite prevailing security challenges. TCN also debunked reports suggesting an indefinite power outage in parts of Northern Nigeria.
The statement read, “The current outage affecting Northern states for several days now is a result of vandalism of the Shiroro-Mando transmission line—a critical infrastructure that supplies electricity to the region. Prevailing insecurity in the area has delayed the immediate repairs necessary to restore supply.
“However, as a temporary measure, TCN has rerouted bulk power supply through the Ugwuaji-Apir 330kV line, which recently snapped.
“TCN has been collaborating closely with the Office of the National Security Adviser to enable our engineers to access the vandalism site and effect the necessary repairs. This is vital to ensure the safety of lives during the repairs.
“We remain steadfast in our commitment to overcoming these challenges because we understand the importance of electricity in the socio-economic lives of the people and the extreme inconveniences this situation is causing the government and all electricity customers in the affected areas. “We pledge not to relent in doing everything possible to rectify the problems and restore power supply to the affected areas.”
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