Blackout To Hit A’Ibom As Vandals Damage Five Towers

Electricity supply along the Ikot Abasi–Eket corridor in Akwa Ibom State is at risk of further disruption following the collapse of five transmission towers on the 132kV line after vandals removed critical structural components from the infrastructure.

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), in a statement on Friday, said that seven other towers along the same transmission corridor had also been weakened after their structural members were removed and stolen, leaving them vulnerable to further collapse.

The damage, according to TCN, was discovered on August 9, 2026, during a routine joint patrol by its linesmen.

The affected infrastructure is part of the Ikot Abasi–Eket 132kV Double Circuit Transmission Line, a key transmission corridor serving the area’s electricity network.

It stated that the collapse of the towers and the weakening of additional structures could further constrain the transmission of electricity if urgent reconstruction is not undertaken.

TCN said preliminary assessment showed that critical structural bracing members had been removed from Towers N9, N10, N11, N12, N13 and N15, resulting in the collapse of five towers.

Although the company did not disclose the exact number of communities or states that could experience outages, it said the network had been reconfigured to prioritise electricity supply from Ibom Power to mitigate the impact of the damaged transmission line.

The company said the seven additional towers from which structural members were stolen were now structurally compromised and posed a risk of further collapse.

TCN Management said it was mobilising an urgent intervention to reconstruct the affected sections of the line, while security agencies had been notified to support investigations and prevent further vandalism along the route.

TCN condemned the incident as an act of sabotage and reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining a robust and reliable transmission network.