Terrorists block power restoration in northern Nigeria

…National Security Advisor on top of the issue—Jibrin

The Nigerian Senate on Tuesday disclosed that a significant reason for the prolonged power outage across the northern region is the takeover of the faulty power supply area by heavily armed terrorists, hindering efforts to restore electricity.

Since last Monday, northern Nigeria has remained without electricity following the vandalisation of the Shiroro-Kaduna transmission line. This disruption triggered the tripping of the 330kV circuit transmission lines between Benue and Enugu, as well as Shiroro and Kaduna, leading to a widespread blackout.

States across the Northeast, Northwest, and parts of north-central Nigeria have been severely affected, with essential services and economic activities grinding to a halt.

Barau Jibrin, the deputy Senate President, informed the Upper Chamber that terrorists are currently occupying the vandalised area, obstructing the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) from accessing the site for repairs.

Read also: Power outages ground businesses in Northern Nigeria

“It has become a problem for TCN staff to get to where this occurred to get it restored because that area has been occupied by terrorists.

“I’ve been talking with the TCN managing director; they are very ready to go there, but the fact is that that place has been occupied by terrorists that are well armed to the teeth,” Barau said.

“What is being done now is that the security agencies are putting their heads together to get to that spot and try to eradicate the threat that has been there for quite a while. So as we speak, the security agencies are doing to deal with the matter” he added.

The Deputy President further informed that President Bola Tinubu has ordered that the security agencies should do all within their powers to make sure that they deal with that threat.

“The National Security Advisor is on top of the issue. We’ve been discussing with him personally. I’ve been talking with the National Security Advisor. So as we speak, all hands are on deck to deal with the situation,” Barau added.