The Transmission Company of Nigeria has confirmed the destruction of two of its towers in the northeast, barely a week after their restoration.
This was contained in a statement by the company spokesperson, Ndidi Mbah, on Wednesday.
TCN said the towers, which are located along the Damaturu-Maiduguri transmission line in the northeastern part of the country, were destroyed by vandals on Tuesday night.
Nairametrics earlier reported that the two damaged towers were part of the recently rebuilt electricity infrastructure in the region following months of blackouts.
The towers were Initially destroyed by vandals in April this year, plunging many people into darkness for over a month.
What TCN is Saying
Meanwhile in a statement on Wednesday, TCN said that the recently rebuilt towers have been destroyed again by vandals.
“The Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, hereby states that two of its towers, T193 and T194, along the Damaturu -Maiduguri 330kV Single Circuit Transmission Line have again been destroyed by vandals.
“The incident, TCN believes happened at about 10:15 pm, yesterday night, when the 150MVA power transformer at Molai Substation tripped at the same time as the 330kV transmission line supplying bulk power to Maiduguri from Damaturu Transmission Substation.
“After the line tripping, efforts were made by TCN engineers to close the Mulai – Damaturu line to enable bulk transmission of electricity, which failed repeatedly.
“Early today, however, TCN lines engineers along with security operatives patrolled the line and discovered that towers 193 and 194 along the 330kV transmission line were brought down using an explosive device, whose fragments are scattered at the site of the incident,” Mbah said.
What you should know
Many states in Nigeria continue to suffer from vandalism of electricity infrastructures, often leading to power outages that can last for weeks or even months.
- In April, TCN reported incidents of vandalism of its towers five times in February.
- It noted that the destruction of its facilities counts as sabotage and urged security operatives and host communities to work towards bringing the culprits to book.
- Meanwhile, following the report, Mbah noted that efforts by TCN are currently mobilising for repair works on the affected facility.
- Speaking on this recent incident, the company called on well-meaning Nigerians in its campaign against vandalism of electricity infrastructures in the country.
“We will continue to do everything possible with the assistance of security operatives to protect our transmission towers and we are also calling upon the government and well-meaning Nigerians to join in the fight against the destruction of our collective national assets,” TCN said.
