In the first half of 2025, vandals demolished 178 transmission towers, according to the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), making power disruptions worse in a number of states.
Ali Sharifai, General Manager, Transmission Services, made the revelation at a media event in Keffi. He called the time period one of the most challenging in TCN’s history.
He said that during the first two quarters of this year, the agency documented 42 distinct instances of vandalism that affected towers that are essential to the distribution of energy.
Sharifai stated that 2024 has already established a somber precedent with 86 towers targeted, 26 of which were entirely destroyed, adding that “states like Bayelsa, Rivers, Abia, and Kano have been especially hit.” “The numbers for this year are even more concerning.”
He went on to say that natural calamities are making matters worse. Six towers along the Kainji-Birnin Kebbi line were destroyed in a violent windstorm in May. In the same month, a tower on the Apir-Lafia-Jos axis partially collapsed due to another event.
In addition to the strain on the electricity supply, Sharifai clarified, these acts impede efforts to expand the national system and have high repair expenses. He claimed that a variety of factors, including political sabotage, economic difficulty, and occasionally outright criminality, are behind the attacks.
He added that in order to safeguard susceptible lines, the TCN is collaborating with the National Security Advisor’s office. “TCN contacted ONSA to request that transmission cables that are susceptible to vandalism be protected. Modern technology will be used to detect and prevent future vandalism on a few key lines that have been chosen as experimental projects.
As Nigerians are now fully aware that TCN property is their property, Sharifai continued, “sensitization and sponsored programs, jingles on both social and print media, including radio and television stations, against vandalism of TCN assets are reaching far and wide.”
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