The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has expressed deep concern over a severe spike in attacks on electricity infrastructure within Niger State.
The utility company revealed that vandals have completely destroyed 14 tower spans of its 132-kilovolt (kV) high-voltage transmission line along the Lambata axis in the Gurara Local Government Area.
During a joint security and community stakeholders meeting in Lambata, TCN officials condemned the acts as deliberate economic sabotage. They warned that the ongoing destruction threatens regional power distribution, jeopardizes industrial growth, and directly compromises public safety.
The affected 132kV transmission line holds historical and functional significance. Constructed over 40 years ago, it was designed to transport bulk electricity from the Shiroro axis through Minna, Bida, and Suleja straight into the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Musa Shuaibu, TCN’s General Manager of Transmission for the Abuja Region, noted that the high-voltage infrastructure had operated for nearly four decades without major interference until criminal syndicates recently began cutting down the active conductors to sell as scrap metal.
Shuaibu stated that these lines have been in existence for close to 40 years, yet individuals have suddenly taken it upon themselves to cut these conductors and sell them for very little money.
The financial and social impacts of the infrastructure damage extend well beyond the immediate loss of power. Preliminary assessments show that restoring the 14 damaged spans using internal regional resources will cost roughly ₦32 million.
If the project is outsourced to external contractors, the final bill is expected to climb significantly higher. Furthermore, because these high-voltage lines feed local power distribution companies like the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), destroying them makes it impossible to transmit electricity down the line to homes, businesses, and hospitals.
Fallen high-voltage lines also retain a dangerous residual voltage, and TCN officials warned that unsuspecting local farmers or livestock coming into contact with these downed lines face a high risk of fatal electrocution.
In response to the crisis, TCN is shifting toward a collaborative security model involving traditional rulers, local vigilantes, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), and the police.
To encourage local oversight, TCN has promised financial rewards to any community that provides actionable intelligence leading to the arrest and conviction of infrastructure thieves. Law enforcement is already taking strict legal action.
Authorities confirmed that 19 suspects arrested for similar infrastructure vandalism within the Abuja region are currently being held at the Kuje Correctional Centre awaiting trial. Under current laws, the offenses carry severe penalties with no option of a fine.
Local leaders, including the District Head of Izom, Alhaji Ibrahim Salihu, have pledged the full backing of traditional institutions to monitor government property, while requesting additional logistical and mobility support for local vigilante groups patrolling the vast transmission corridors.
