Vandals have destroyed 178 transmission towers in the first half of 2025, worsening power outages across several states.
Ali Sharifai, General Manager, Transmission Services of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), who, during a media briefing in Keffi, described the situation as one of the most difficult periods in TCN’s history.
“The agency recorded 42 separate cases of vandalism within the first two quarters of the year, affecting towers critical to electricity distribution.
“States like Bayelsa, Rivers, Abia, and Kano have been especially hit,” Sharifai said, noting that 2024 had already set a grim precedent with 86 towers targeted—26 of them completely brought down. “This year’s figures are even more troubling,” he said.
He added that natural disasters compounded the problem, “a severe windstorm in May took down six towers along the Kainji-Birnin Kebbi line. Another incident in the same month led to the partial collapse of a tower on the Apir-Lafia-Jos axis.
“The attacks are driven by a mix of motives—economic hardship, political sabotage, and sometimes pure criminality, these acts come with enormous repair costs and hinder efforts to expand the national grid. Sharifai said.
To protect vulnerable lines, he said the TCN is working with the office of the National Security Adviser on it.
“TCN reached out to ONSA for the protection of vulnerable transmission lines against vandalism. Some critical lines have been selected as pilot schemes for which state-of-the-art technology will be deployed to monitor and deter future vandalism.
“Sensitisation and sponsored programmes, jingles on both social and print media, including radio and television stations against vandalism of TCN assets, are reaching far and wide as Nigerians are now fully informed that TCN property is their property,” Sharifai added.
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