The Transmission Company of Nigeria has raised concerns over increasing attacks on electricity infrastructure in Niger State, revealing that vandals have destroyed 14 tower spans of its 132-kilovolt high-voltage transmission line in the Lambata axis of the Gurara Local Government Area.
The company described the development as an economic sabotage capable of undermining electricity supply, threatening lives and frustrating efforts to improve power distribution and industrial growth in the state.
Speaking during a security and community engagement meeting held in Lambata on Monday, the General Manager, Transmission, Abuja Region of TCN, Musa Shuaibu, said the company had been forced to seek the support of traditional rulers, vigilante groups and security agencies following repeated incidents of vandalism in the area.
Officials of the local vigilante group, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, the Federal Road Safety Corps, and the Niger State Road Traffic Management Agency were also present at the meeting, where they deliberated on the rising incidents of vandalism of transmission infrastructure in the area and explored practical measures to address the challenge.
Shuaibu explained that the affected 132kV transmission line, constructed during the administration of former President Shehu Shagari more than four decades ago, was originally designed to wheel electricity from the Shiroro axis through Minna, Bida and Suleja to the Federal Capital Territory, serving as one of the earliest high-voltage infrastructures that supported power supply to the nation’s capital and surrounding communities.
