Politically speaking, the recent report of the vandalism of Tower 70 along the 330kV Gwagwalada/Katampe line at about 1132hrs of February, 26, 2024 by hoodlums is quite disheartening and a case of one too many, especially considering the fact that the nation is still grappling with the issue of inadequate and epileptic power supply. This criminal act reduced power supply to the FCT by 250MW and is capable of compromising the reliability, continuity and stability of power supply, which could have adverse implications for national security.

The increasing cases of vandalism of power infrastructure is not limited to only Transmission company as Distribution companies are not exempted from these criminal acts.

With regards to Transmission, it is more rampant in the North-East because of the activities of terrorists who have attacked Transmission lines and substations in the region while several Discos have also recorded various cases of vandalism.

For example, the Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company said that 158 distribution stations were vandalized across the four franchise states of the Company between January and June this year. According to Engineer Bello Musa, the Chief Engineering and Technical Services Officer of the Company, the Company lost N238,701,800.65 (two hundred and thirty eight million, seven hundred and one thousand, eight hundred naira, sixty five kobo) worth of equipment. 

Engineer John Ayodele, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company revealed that on the 29th of June, at night, unknown civilians and armed men in Police and Civil Defence uniforms, stole IBEDC 33kV underground cables at Mokola Round-about in Ibadan, Oyo state. Similarly, Enugu, Eko, and Abuja Electricity Distribution Companies have reported several cases of vandalism within their networks.       

In order to stem these increasing attacks on the nation’s power infrastructure, it is necessary to investigate and prosecute those apprehended and their sponsors to serve as deterrent to others.

On their part, it will be a nice idea if the affected companies invest in technology to secure their assets by installing cameras and the use of drones to monitor their facilities for any encroachments.

There should be more collaboration between power companies and security agents for effective patrol of their facilities. Additionally, the Transmission Company should consider the re-introduction of aerial patrols to complement ground patrols because they can easily cover more distances in shorter periods of time.

Last but not the least, traditional institutions and citizens must “own” and show more interest to protect power facilities installed in their communities so as to eliminate the likely discomfort they will experience as a result of the activities of these criminal elements.