Vandals destroy 6 transmission towers, kill vigilante in Rivers

The Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) Limited says no fewer than six transmission towers have been destroyed by vandals between September and November 2022, in Rivers State.

The NDPHC stated that the vandal also killed a vigilante in the state.

It made this known via a statement made available to The Star on Sunday.

The company noted that projects it embarked upon have been attacked, saying assailants, on September 3, attacked and vandalised the 330kV DC Afam–Onne Transmission Line in Gbake community of Ogoniland, River State.

The NDPHC disclosed that the vandals also cut down four transmission towers (T19, T20, T21, and T22), dismantled and carted them away.

It said the vandals, on October 10, attacked and vandalised two additional towers on the same 330kV DC Afam- Onne Transmission Line.

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It stated that no fewer than nine vandals were arrested during a third attempt to attack the towers, saying they have since been charged to court to face the full wrath of the law.

The company disclosed that the vigilantes, during routine patrol on November 25, encountered the vandals along the same Afam-Onne Transmission Line, noting that one of the guards (vigilantes) was shot and later died.

The NDPHC said the line connecting Afam to Onne in Port Harcourt is the first 330kV Double Circuit Transmission supply line to the Rivers State capital.

It stated that persistent attacks on the line have caused substantial damage to the transmission line project, noting that it will take huge sums of money to effect needed reconstruction and repairs in addition to resultant delays on delivery time.

Speaking on the attacks, the NDPHC Executive Director, Corporate Services, Nkechi Mba, commiserated with the deceased families, promising that the company will support them in their moment of grief.

Mba, however, appealed to members of the public to regard “public infrastructure as our commonwealth and strive to jointly always protect it”.

She equally thanked law enforcement operatives for their support in trying to engage and deter criminals who vandalised NDPHC assets, saying the company “will ensure that anyone caught vandalising our assets will be made to face severe legal sanctions.”

The Star