By Olawale Lamina
The Transmission Company of Nigeria ,TCN, declared that Tower T99 along the Ughelli/Benin 330kV Transmission Line, which collapsed on March 15, 2026, was caused by an act of vandalism.
According to a release by the TCN’s General Manager, Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, the incident was discovered during a line patrol at Coconut Village, Effurun LGA, Warri, Delta State, following a line trip.
“Upon inspection by TCN’s Linesman, it was observed that the fallen tower had some of its bracing members vandalised and carted away, which led to its collapse. The adjoining towers, T100 and T101, were also vandalized although they remain standing.
“As a result, there is a temporary disruption in the evacuation of bulk power supply from Transcorp Power Plc to the national grid through the Benin 330kV transmission line,” the statement explained.
On the way forward to address the challenge, TCN stated that it has commenced the mobilisation of resources to facilitate the reconstruction, restoration, and reinforcement of the vandalized towers and affected transmission line as soon as possible.
TCN also used the occasion to caution against acts inimical to the safety of its power infrastructure, calling for vigilance and necessary action by members of the public.
“We reiterate that vandalism poses a serious threat to the stability of the nation’s transmission system and urge host communities to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activities around transmission installations to security operatives or the nearest TCN office.”
It stated further that the fight against vandalism of power infrastructure remains a collective responsibility, calling on stakeholders to be unanimous in protecting the critical national assets from further attacks.
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