Growing Vandalism Threatens TCN’s Assets, 262 Power Towers Hit in 18 Months

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

Electricity transmission assets belonging to the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) have come under recent intense attacks by vandals, as cases of destruction of the company’s power towers, otherwise known as pylons, hit 262 in the last 18 months.

Speaking on the last day of a capacity media training workshop for members of the Power Correspondents Association of Nigeria (PCAN) in Keffi, Nasarawa state, TCN’s General Manager, Transmission Service, Ali Sharifai, noted that 2024 and 2025 have been the most trying periods for the company.

In many of the cases, the areas of coverage are usually thrown into darkness, Sharifai said, lamenting the increasing cost of repairs. He stressed that such funds could have been channeled towards further expanding the national grid.

“A total of 86 towers were vandalised in 2024 with 26 towers completely down, which put affected states to total darkness. These vandalism cases spanned Abuja, Bauchi, Enugu, Shiroro, Kano and Port-Harcourt regions. In the first and second quarters of 2025 alone, a total of 42 acts of vandalism were recorded affecting a total of 178 towers,” Sharifai stated.

Beside the activities of vandals, he explained that natural disasters also hinder the free flow of electricity to the grid as TCN recently recorded along Kainji-Birnín Kebbi 330kV  international line, where six towers collapsed in May, 2025 due to windstorm and torrential rainfall.

“There may be many motives behind transmission line vandalism, but it may be narrowed down to three reasons. In areas like North-east and South-south parts of the country, sabotage is the main reason for vandalism of TCN towers as a result of insurgency and youth restiveness. But in areas like Port Harcourt, a combination of sabotage and economic reasons may not be ruled out.

“Vandalism around the Abuja axis is purely political. Critical lines that supply Abuja and environs are vandalised excessively with a view to putting the Federal Capital in total darkness. Shiroro-Katampe and Ajaokuta-Gwagwalada 330kV lines and 132kV underground line cable at the Central Area were vandalised with their effect putting the FCT into nearly total blackout.

“The scrap market is growing across some parts of the country. There are ready-made scrap markets where carted away materials are sold and recycled. Vandalism recorded in places like the Kano and Makurdi axis are mostly economic,” Sharafai pointed out.

On the effect of transmission line infrastructure vandalism, the top TCN official states that it leads to disruption of power supply across the sector, as the generated power from the generation station cannot be wheeled to the distribution ends.

Besides, he noted that the TCN incurs significant costs due to repair, replacement and need for increased security measures to address vandalism, while the company’s grid expansion efforts are hindered, as monies to pay contractor’s invoices are used on repairs.

But he explained that the TCN has been reaching out to locals where the transmission lines are prone to vandalism to help secure the lines.

He emphasised that there had been a series of engagements with the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) after cases of vandalism rose  in 2024, for the protection of vulnerable transmission lines against vandalism.

According to him, some critical lines have been selected as pilot schemes where state-of-the-art technology will be deployed to monitor and deter future activities of the vandals.

For public enlightenment, he stated that there are now sponsored programmes and jingles on both social and print media, including radio and television stations against vandalism of TCN assets.

Also speaking, General Manager, Materials Control and Store, Abdulkadir Adamu, who spoke on:  “Critical Role of Materials Control and Store in TCN”, highlighted the importance of the department in the company.

He added that being able to get replacement parts when needed was critical to the survival of the power sector, pointing out that there had been immense improvement in the number of parts in the company’s stores scattered nationwide.

Also speaking, General Manager, Public Affairs of the TCN, Ndidi Mbah, stated that the TCN remains open to collaborating with the media, with a view to reporting the organisation accurately.