The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) on Wednesday said vandals had destroyed two of its towers that were earlier rebuilt. The vandalized towers are T193 and T194 along the Damaturu-Maiduguri 330kV single circuit transmission line.
In a statement in Abuja, TCN’s Public Affairs General Manager, Ndidi Mbah said: “The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) hereby states that two of its towers, T193 and T194, on the Damaturu-Maiduguri 330kV Single Circuit Transmission Line, have again been destroyed by vandals”.
The incident, according to the statement, occurred around 10:15 p.m. on Tuesday night when the 150MVA power transformer at Molai substation tripped at the same time as the 330kV transmission line supplying bulk power to Maiduguri from Damaturu transmission substation.
She noted that after the line tripped off, TCN engineers made efforts to close the Mulai-Damaturu line to enable bulk transmission of electricity, which failed repeatedly.
The statement said TCN lines engineers, along with security operatives, patrolled the line early yesterday and discovered that towers 193 and 194 on the 330kV transmission line were brought down with an explosive device and the fragments scattered on the site of the incident.
The report stated the incident affected Maiduguri and its environs.
The statement recalled that on 28 December, last year, towers T193, T194, and T195 were destroyed with the use of similar improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Two of the towers are among those affected by Tuesday’s attack.
TCN officials as at the time of the report explained that they were assessing the situation to know the best approach to take for the temporary restoration of the power supply, while a contractor was mobilised to rebuild the two transmission towers.
The statement added: “We will continue to do everything possible with the assistance of security operatives to protect our transmission towers. We are also calling upon the government and well-meaning Nigerians to join in the fight against the destruction of our collective national assets”.
