By Mary Izuaka

 

A suspected vandal has been found crushed to death under a collapsed vandalised transmission tower along the 330kV Ughelli-Benin transmission line in Delta State, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has said.

TCN, in a statement by its management, said its linesmen discovered the body on Saturday during an intensive line patrol along the Ughelli-Benin 330kV transmission line after the line tripped on an earth fault.

According to the company, the patrol team from the Delta Sub-Region, Lines Maintenance Department (LMD), traced the fault to Tower 101, which had completely collapsed.

“The body of the suspected vandal was found crushed between the tower members,” it said.

TCN stated that further inspection revealed that Tower 101 on the adjacent Ughelli-Sapele 330kV transmission line had also been seriously vandalised.

It added that the tower was still standing as of the time of the report.

TCN condemned the act and described it as a tragic reminder of the dangers of tampering with power infrastructure.

“The fight against the vandalism of power infrastructure must be inclusive. All hands must be on deck for this fight to be won. This incident is a tragic reminder of the extreme dangers of tampering with power infrastructure,” it said.

The company appealed to host communities and members of the public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activities around power installations to security agencies and the nearest TCN offices.

“Vandalism not only leads to power outages and damage to national assets, but it also endangers lives. Protecting power infrastructure is a civic responsibility. Stop the vandals, or they will stop power for us all,” TCN said.

In recent years, vandalism has become a significant threat to Nigeria’s power infrastructure.

On Wednesday, TCN said six of its transmission towers, T995, T998, T999, T1002, T1003, and T1004, along the Yola–Jalingo 330kV transmission line were vandalised.

At the time, TCN said the incident was discovered during a routine line patrol by its engineers on 29th July, when it was observed that vandals had stripped critical bracing members from the affected towers, carting away an estimated 130 pieces of tower members.