Suspected vandal electrocuted while tampering with power line

Tragedy struck in the Ezillo area of Ebonyi State as a man suspected to be involved in vandalism was fatally electrocuted while allegedly tampering with Tower 34 on the Nkalagu–Abakaliki 132kV transmission line.

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) confirmed the incident in a statement issued on July 19, 2025, after being notified by security operatives in the area.

According to the TCN, the victim was believed to have been attempting to interfere with the high-voltage infrastructure when the fatal accident occurred.

“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.