Again, vandals destroy newly rebuilt power tower along Damaturu-Maiduguri line

Omeiza Bilal

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), has said that two of its towers, T193 and T194, along the Damaturu -Maiduguri 330kV Single Circuit Transmission Line have again been destroyed by vandals.

According to GM, Public Affairs Ndidi Mbah in a statement, the incident, happened at about 10:15pm, on Monday 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.

The incident has left Maiduguri and its environs in total blackout. 

“After the line tripping, efforts were made by TCN engineers to close the Mulai – Damaturu line to enable bulk transmission of electricity, which failed repeatedly. Early Today, however, TCN lines engineers along with security operatives patrolled the line and discovered that towers 193 and 194 along the 330kV transmission line were brought down using an explosive device, whose fragments are scattered at the site of the incident.

“Recall that on the 28th of December, 2023, towers T193, T194 and T195, were destroyed on 28th December, 2023 using similar improvised Explosives IEDs. Two out of the towers in question are the towers affected by yesterday’s vandalism attack, which were rebuilt after that incident.

“TCN is currently assessing the situation with the view to deciding on the best approach to ensuring the temporary restoration of the power supply while a contractor is mobilized to rebuild the two transmission towers,” it said in the statement. 

The company said it will “continue to do everything possible with the assistance of security operatives to protect our transmission towers and we are also calling upon the government and well-meaning Nigerians to join in the fight against the destruction of our collective national assets.”