Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — The Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, Port Harcourt Region, has arrested vandals caught in the act of destroying its towers on the Owerri/Ahoada 132kV double circuit line.
The Senior Manager, System lines at Port Harcourt Sub-region, Mr. Udoh Onyema, said the vandals who were caught vandalizing TCN towers, have disclosed where they sold the stolen tower members worth millions of Naira for a fraction of their value.
Onyema noted that the vandals who were currently in Police custody and awaiting prosecution, vandalized the TCN facility on June 16th, 2024.
He said, “The Owerri/Ahoada DC line traverses Elele and Ahoada town in Ikwerre and Ahoada East Local Government Areas of Rivers State. The area is notorious for such vandalism and has experienced repeated vandalism and theft.”
Similarly, TCN Station Supervisor, Ahoada Transmission Sub Station, Mr Akhomien Richard Omokhua, noted that in the month of June alone, the station recorded three separate attacks on its facilities by hoodlums.
Omokhua appealed to host communities and security agencies to beef up security around transmission facilities in the areas.
The region experienced similar thing on June 4th, 2024. The operator on duty reported that there was no supply to the staff quarters, however, the breaker was still on in the control room, meaning that there had been a breach somewhere. During patrol the following morning, we discovered that the cable feeding the staff quarters was vandalized.
“In these attacks, they took away the earthing wires which we used to earth the fence, if you look around you will see the holes they bored on the switchyard fence. We recovered items like slippers, hand hose and a plier.”
