The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has reported the destruction of two of its towers along the Gombe-Damaturu axis. The company explained that the event happened on the 23rd of February around 9 pm.
This was disclosed in a statement signed by the General Manager of Public Affairs of the company where it stated that the TCN has arranged a temporary electricity supply to the Damaturu via the Potiskum transmission sub-station.
The statement read,
- “The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) regrets to announce the vandalism and destruction of two of its transmission towers, T377 and T378, along the Gombe–Damaturu 330kV transmission line on February 23, 2024.”
- “This act, perpetrated by insurgents, resulted in a load loss of approximately 5MW. At approximately 9:35 pm yesterday, the Gombe – Damaturu 330kV transmission line experienced a trip.”
- “Following initial checks, TCN engineers from the Bauchi regional office attempted the restoration of the line but it tripped again, prompting the dispatch of TCN’s linesmen and security operatives to trace the fault. The team, then discovered the two collapsed towers, T377 and T378.”
TCN calls for the protection of power infrastructure
The company noted that the destruction of critical infrastructure like this is highly regretted and called on relevant authorities at all levels of government to ensure the protection of power infrastructure.
It also stated that arrangements are underway to mobilise contractors to the site to re-erect the destroyed towers.
Backstory
The North-east Nigerian states of Borno, Yobe and Yola have been a hotbed of terrorist activities since 2009 with Boko-Haram at one time controlling an area the size of Belgium.
However, in the past few years, they have been degraded and restricted to the Sambisa Forest area but still carry one-off guerilla attacks on vulnerable communities and infrastructure.
- In December, terrorists affiliated with ISWAP destroyed three TCN transmission towers at the Maiduguri-Damaturu highway- an attack that led to the loss of personnel of the NSCDC. The Minister of Power spoke on the attack stating such destruction undermines the federal government’s efforts to improve the electricity situation in the country.