Abuja: backout looms as vandals attack Apir–Lafia 330kV transmission corridor

By Onu Okorie

The  Transmission Company of Nigeria TCN has announced that it’s six high-voltage transmission towers have been vandalized along the Apir–Lafia 330kV transmission corridor in north-central Nigeria, knocking out power supply to communities across two major electricity distribution zones. 

A press release issued by Ndidi Mbah, General Manager of Public Affairs, TCN explained that the sabotage, which targeted towers T125 through T130 on both Transmission Lines I and II, was discovered in the early hours of May 30, 2026, after the lines tripped at approximately 1:15 a.m. during a heavy downpour. Engineers who attempted to restore Line II via trial reclosure at 2:08 a.m. were unsuccessful, prompting a physical inspection of the corridor that confirmed deliberate damage to critical tower components.

With both Apir–Lafia 330kV lines now out of service, TCN engineers have been deployed to the site to assess the full extent of the destruction and identify the materials needed for reconstruction. No timeline for full restoration has been given.

The incident has disrupted electricity supply to customers within the franchise areas of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) and the Jos Electricity Distribution Company (JEDC). As a stopgap measure, TCN said the Lafia 330kV Transmission Station is currently being fed through the Lafia–Jos transmission line to limit the impact of the outage.

TCN strongly condemned the attack, describing the pattern of infrastructure vandalism as an assault on years of public investment in Nigeria’s power sector. The company called on host communities and members of the public to report any suspicious activity near transmission installations to security agencies or the nearest TCN office.

“Collective action is essential to protect national grid assets and ensure reliable power supply,” the company said in its statement.