Vandals Destroy Four Transmission Towers, Plunge Parts of Rivers and Bayelsa Into Darkness

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has confirmed the destruction of four high-voltage transmission towers along the Owerri-Ahoada 132kV double circuit line, causing a major power outage across parts of Rivers and Bayelsa states.

According to a statement released on Thursday by Ndidi Mbah, TCN’s General Manager of Public Affairs, the incident occurred at approximately 6:23 PM on Tuesday when towers T171 to T174 collapsed due to severe vandalism.

The damage was discovered after a failed trial reclosure—an automatic attempt to restore power after a detected fault—prompting an emergency patrol of the affected area.

“Investigations confirmed that the towers’ collapse was a direct result of vandalism,” Mbah stated, emphasizing the impact on power supply to critical transmission substations in Ahoada, Gbarain, and Yenagoa.

In response, a team of engineers led by Emmanuel Apka, TCN’s General Manager for the Port Harcourt region, has been deployed to assess the destruction and initiate urgent repairs.

Mbah assured that the company is making “frantic efforts” to mobilize personnel and materials to restore bulk power supply as quickly as possible.

“TCN condemns this act of vandalism, which continues to undermine efforts to build a robust and reliable transmission grid,” she said, urging local communities to help protect critical power infrastructure.

This latest attack follows a troubling pattern of infrastructure sabotage. On January 20, TCN reported that 18 transmission towers were vandalized within just five days across Rivers, Abia, and Kano states.

The company warned that these repeated acts of vandalism pose a severe challenge to Nigeria’s power stability and pledged to strengthen collaboration with law enforcement agencies to increase surveillance along key transmission lines.

As authorities work to track down the culprits, TCN is calling on communities to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activities around power installations.