Vandals have destroyed six power transmission towers and killed a vigilante personnel along the 330 kilovolts (kV) double circuit Afam – Onne transmission line in River state, said the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC).
According to a statement by the company, there have been a series of attacks on the power line starting with one in September, when vandals in Gbake community of Ogoniland, vandalised four towers, dismantled the members and carted them away.
In October, the vandals vandalized two towers on the same transmission line route and returned the third time for a similar attack when security operatives arrested nine of the vandals who had been charged to court already.
NDPHC also said during routine patrol on 25 November, vigilantes encountered vandals again on the 330kV Afam-Onne line and one of the vigilante operatives was shot and killed.
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Speaking on the incidents, the Executive Director, Corporate Services at NDPHC, Nkechi Mba, condoled the families of the victim while extoling his gallantry.
“We will be relentless in hunting these vandals down, particularly those who assassinated the young man.”
She called on communities to collaborate with security operatives to tackle cases of vandalism. “The infrastructure that governments develop is done with taxpayers’ money and is therefore owned by the people. Public infrastructure as our commonwealth and strive to jointly always protect it,” Mba noted.
The NDPHC official noted that it will continue to work with security operatives to protect critical assets.
“The company will ensure that anyone caught vandalizing our assets will be made to face severe legal sanctions,” she noted.
