Article Summary
- Nigeria’s National Security Adviser (NSA) warns of terror threats to Kainji and Shiroro dams, citing bandits and terror groups as potential threats.
- The validation exercise for the 2023 draft national infrastructure policy highlights the need for enhanced protection measures for energy infrastructure in Nigeria.
- Past incidents of attacks on Nigeria’s energy infrastructure include Boko Haram’s assault on electricity infrastructure, resulting in a blackout in Maiduguri, and constant attacks on power lines in the Northeast region.
Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno, has alleged terror threats to the Kainji and Shiroro dams. The Guardian reports that he said this at the May 9 validation exercise for the 2023 draft national infrastructure policy for the protection of assets and strategy.
According to Monguno, who was represented by the Principal General Staff Officer, ONSA, Major General Sadiq Ndalolo, the dams may be under threat from bandits and terror groups. The NSA also highlighted security threats to other energy infrastructure and called for more steps to be taken to address these threats. He said:
- “The presence of these groups, especially near Kainji and Shiroro dams, further constitutes major security threats to the zone. Meanwhile, attacks on assets and infrastructure in the South-South are primarily driven by militant activities, especially pipeline vandalism and oil theft.
- “The deployment of both kinetic and non-kinetic mechanisms by the government has considerably succeeded in protecting and safeguarding our Critical National Assets and infrastructure in recent years. Nonetheless, there is a need to develop and continuously review measures to address dynamic threats to our infrastructure. This validation exercise, therefore, could not have come at a better time.”
- Nigeria’s energy infrastructure has been a soft target for terrorists in the past. In September 2021, Benito Eze, the Assistant Commandant-General in charge of critical national assets and infrastructure at the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), said that electricity, oil, and other infrastructure were under threat of attacks by violent groups.
Also, in February 2021, Boko Haram attacked the electricity infrastructure, which led to a blackout in Maiduguri and some other communities in the state.
Meanwhile, in September 2021, the federal government put the cost of vandalized transmission equipment in Maiduguri, the Borno capital, at N1.7 billion.
In June 2022, Nairametrics also reported that Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu, confirmed that there were constant attacks on power lines in the Northeast region, which had affected the ability of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to power the zone.
According to the Power Minister, the federal government had been forced to design alternative but less efficient ways to supply electricity to the affected communities.
What you should know
The Kainji and Shiroro dams have a combined capacity of 1,360 megawatts (MW).
