By Joy Yesufu
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has raised alarm over the rising spate of infrastructure sabotage, revealing that 178 transmission towers have been vandalised across the country in just the first half of 2025.
Speaking at a media briefing in Keffi, the General Manager of Transmission Services, Ali Sharifai, described the situation as one of the most challenging periods in the company’s history.
According to him, TCN recorded 42 separate incidents of vandalism within the first two quarters, significantly disrupting electricity supply in several states, including Bayelsa, Rivers, Abia, and Kano.
“2024 was already a difficult year with 86 towers affected — 26 of them completely destroyed. But this year’s figures are even more troubling,” Sharifai stated.
In addition to criminal sabotage, Sharifai noted that natural disasters worsened the situation.
He said that a windstorm in May brought down six towers on the Kainji-Birnin Kebbi line, while another storm caused a partial collapse of a structure along the Apir-Lafia-Jos axis.
He identified a range of motivations behind the attacks, including economic hardship, political sabotage, and criminal profiteering, all of which pose a severe threat to Nigeria’s already fragile power supply and national grid expansion efforts.
To address the crisis, TCN is collaborating with the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) to implement security measures around critical infrastructure.
“We’ve identified key transmission lines for enhanced surveillance using state-of-the-art technology. These will serve as pilot projects for broader network protection,” Sharifai said.
He also highlighted TCN’s ongoing public enlightenment campaigns, including radio and TV jingles aimed at discouraging vandalism by promoting a sense of national ownership of power infrastructure.
“We want every Nigerian to understand that TCN’s assets are their assets. Protecting them is a shared responsibility,” he added.
