Man electrocuted while attempting to vandalise electricity tower

A man believed to be involved in vandalism was fatally electrocuted in the Ezillo area of Ebonyi State while allegedly interfering with Tower 34 on the Nkalagu–Abakaliki 132kV transmission line.

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) confirmed the incident in a statement released after it was notified by security personnel on July 19, 2025.

“Vandal electrocuted at Ezillo, Ebonyi State, while attempting to tamper with Tower 34 along the Nkalagu-Abakaliki 132kV transmission line,” TCN stated on Thursday.

“Security operatives informed TCN on July 19, 2025, that the accomplices fled after the incident.”

The identity of the deceased had not been disclosed at the time of this report. TCN, however, assured that it is collaborating with law enforcement to curb further acts of sabotage.

Power infrastructure vandalism has continued to pose a serious challenge to Nigeria’s electricity supply.

In January, the TCN reported a major disruption in Abuja’s Central Area due to damage inflicted on its 132kV transmission line and underground cables.

A statement by the company’s General Manager of Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, revealed that the vandalism affected power supply to key districts in the city.

The damage, which occurred near Millennium Park, led to an outage that cut over 60% of power to the capital. Vandals had stolen 40 metres of high-capacity conductors from two 132kV lines, impacting electricity delivery from the TCN’s Central Area Transmission Substation, which serves customers through the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC).

In a separate incident in November 2024, the TCN also reported sabotage on the 330kV Lokoja–Gwagwalada transmission line. According to Mbah, towers T306, T307, and T308 were vandalised, with two spans of aluminium conductor stolen by the culprits.