- 128 power towers lost in 2024
Onome Amuge
The federal government has spent not less that N8.8 billion in 2024 to repair and restore transmission towers that were vandalised across the country.
Ahmed Abdulaziz, the managing director and chief executive officer of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), made the disclosure during a recent Power Sector Working Group meeting in Abuja.
Olugbenga Ajiboye, the executive director of the TCN, representing the TCN MD, disclosed that the country lost 128 transmission towers between January and November 2024, with perpetrators either being vandals or bandits.
The TCN expressed deep concern that perpetrators apprehended for these acts of destruction are often granted bail, allowing them to continue their illicit activities with impunity.
“As I talk to you today, 128 of our towers have been destroyed by either vandals or bandits. To date, we have spent about N8.8bn, by our estimation, to put them back to full and functional use,” he said.
Abdulaziz alleged that when the vandals were arrested and handed over to the police for prosecution, they were granted bail on the basis of theft, rather than vandalism.
He further lamented that on every occasion that vandals were arrested and taken to the police for prosecution, the police charged them with theft, rather than vandalism, enabling the release of the vandals on bail.
Abdulaziz disclosed that when the Shiroro-Mando-Kaduna towers were destroyed, the TCN was forced to secure full military escorts for its contractors, just to ensure that the transmission lines and towers could be safely restored.
He added that the scope of the challenge was so daunting that in some cases, the TCN’s contractors were only given a two-hour window to work on the restoration process.
“In some instances, they would even tell us that it was not safe to move there. How do we get out of this? How can we deliver electricity to Nigerians under these terrible circumstances? These are part of the challenges we are facing in the power sector,” the TCN MD said.
Bolaji Tunji, the special adviser to the minister of power on strategic communication and media relations, also confirmed in a statement that despite apprehending perpetrators, the Nigerian Police have yet to successfully prosecute any of the apprehended vandals.
