Vandals Trigger Power Outage in Nine Abia Communities by Damaging Gas Pipelines

How Gas Pipeline Vandalism Led to Major Power Outages in Abia State

In recent days, Abia State has experienced significant disruptions to its power supply due to acts of vandalism targeting critical infrastructure. On January 19, 2025, residents of the Aba Ringfence area, encompassing nine of the state’s 17 local government areas, faced their first power outage in over a month.

This interruption was attributed to an attack on the gas pipelines supplying the Aba Power Plant, carried out by individuals seeking to steal crude oil and petroleum products. The Managing Director of Aba Power, Ugo Opiegbe, confirmed the disruption and apologized to affected customers.

Concurrently, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) reported that between January 9 and 14, 2025, more than 18 transmission towers were vandalized across Rivers, Abia, and Kano states.

In Abia State, the Alaoji/Umuahia 132kV line, which was already under repair, suffered further damage as vandals targeted towers 160 to 162, stealing bolts, nuts, and other structural components. These acts have compromised the stability of the power infrastructure, leading to widespread outages.