Between January 9 and 14, 2025, no fewer than 18 transmission towers were destroyed by vandals and thrown residents of communities in Rivers, Kano and Abia states into darkness.

The General Manager of Public Affairs of the TCN disclosed in a statement said the destruction of the electricity infrastructure continues to be a challenge to TCN’s operations.

Towers 105, 106, and 107 along the Katsina-Gazoua 132/33kV transmission line in Kano State suffered a setback on January 9 after suffering damage as a result of the destructive actions of vandals

In Port Harcourt, the capital city of Rivers, the TCN’s General Manager for the region reported that linesmen uncovered damage to towers 171 through 181 and 184 in a routine inspection on January 10.

Four days later, the linesmen recorded a reoccurrence. Vandals destroyed towers 146, 147, and 149 along the Owerri/Ahoada 132kV line in Rivers State by removing the base brackets, thereby compromising the stability of the towers.

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On January 13, the Head of the Lines Department for Abia State, Engr. Azuh Lucky reported the theft of nuts, bolts and other parts of towers 160 to 162 on the Alaoji/Umuahia 132kV line, which was under repair then.

On January 17, Nigeria’s capital city suffered its fair share of electricity infrastructure vandalism. TCN engineers discovered vandalised 132kV underground transmission cables near Millennium Park in Abuja.

The Guardian reported that some parts of the Presidential Villa, also known as Aso Rock, were thrown into darkness after vandals carted away 40 meters of 1×500mm2 XLPE conductors on the 2 numbers 132kva transmission lines.

According to Mbah, these incidents put the TCN under tremendous strain and hinders the development of the country’s electricity sector.

“TCN’s grid expansion plans are under tremendous strain due to the persistent vandalism of its installations. The financial implications of constant repairs to vandalised transmission installations, along with the stress on the grid, are having adverse effects on TCN’s grid expansion drive,” said Mbah.

She noted that the TCN has increased line patrols and is collaborating with security agencies to combat the vandalism of transmission towers.