The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has raised the alarm over the persistent destruction of its infrastructure, revealing that a total of 264 high-voltage transmission towers were vandalised across the country between January 2024 and June 2025.
According to the TCN, the attacks, fueled by sabotage, political motives, and economic incentives, have plunged entire regions into darkness and significantly derailed efforts to improve the national electricity supply, which reached 8,701 megavolt-amperes of transformer capacity.
The General Manager, Transmission Service Provider at TCN, Ali Sharifai, told a media workshop for energy correspondents in Nasarawa State on Thursday that 2024 and 2025 were “the most trying period” in the company’s operational history due to incessant vandalism by non-state actors.
“Year 2024 and 2025 have been the most trying times for TCN as a responsive public utility due to vandalism of its transmission line infrastructure by non-state actors.
A total of 86 towers were vandalised in 2024, with 26 towers completely down, which left the affected states in total darkness.
“This vandalism spans across Abuja, Bauchi, Enugu, Shiroro, Kano, and Port Harcourt regions, while in the first and the second quarters of 2025 alone, a total of 42 acts of vandalism were recorded affecting a total of 178 towers. We have lost 264 towers to vandalism within 15 months, with widespread implications on power supply across the country,” Sharifai said.
A breakdown of the figures shows that 86 towers were vandalised in 2024, with 26 completely destroyed, affecting transmission in Abuja, Bauchi, Enugu, Kano, Shiroro, and Port Harcourt regions.
In the first half of 2025 alone, 178 towers were affected across 42 separate incidents, with the highest number recorded in the Port Harcourt, Kaduna, and Kano regions.
He explained that in the Abuja region, 4 acts of vandalism were recorded in 2025, with 11 towers affected. While the Enugu region recorded two acts of vandalism with 16 towers affected, the Kano region recorded 8 acts of vandalism with 29 towers affected, and the Lagos region recorded 5 acts of vandalism with 9 towers affected.
In the Osogbo region, two acts of vandalism were recorded, with three towers affected. The Port Harcourt region recorded 17 acts of vandalism, with 72 towers affected. He added that the Shiroro region recorded two acts of vandalism with three towers affected, while the Kaduna region recorded two acts of vandalism with 35 towers affected.
The agency linked the motives behind the destruction to three major factors: sabotage, politics, and the booming scrap market.
GIK/APA