A suspected vandal has died under a collapsed 330kV transmission tower in Delta State, with TCN warning that vandalism of power infrastructure poses serious risks to lives and national electricity supply.
A suspected vandal has been found dead beneath a collapsed 330-kilovolt (kV) transmission tower in Delta State, according to the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).
TCN said its linesmen discovered the body on Saturday during an intensive patrol of the Ughelli-Benin 330kV transmission line.
The company disclosed the incident in a statement issued by its management in Abuja. According to TCN, the patrol followed the tripping of the transmission line on an earth fault.
The Delta Sub-Region Lines Maintenance Department deployed a patrol team to trace the source of the fault. The team eventually traced the fault to Tower 101, where they found that the structure had collapsed.
TCN said the patrol team also discovered the corpse of the suspected vandal trapped among the collapsed tower members.
“Further inspection revealed that tower 101 on the adjacent Ughelli-Sapele 330kV transmission line had also been seriously vandalised,” the company said.
The adjacent tower, however, remained standing at the time of the inspection.
The transmission company condemned the incident and appealed to host communities and members of the public to remain vigilant around electricity infrastructure.
TCN urged Nigerians to promptly report suspicious activities around transmission towers, lines and other power installations to security agencies or the nearest TCN office.
The company stressed that combating vandalism requires the collective involvement of government agencies, security authorities, host communities and members of the public.
“This incident is a tragic reminder of the extreme dangers of tampering with power infrastructure,” TCN said.
The company warned that vandalism not only damages critical national assets and contributes to power outages but can also result in loss of life.
TCN therefore urged Nigerians to regard the protection of electricity infrastructure as a civic responsibility and to assist authorities in preventing further attacks on the nation’s power facilities.
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