The Transmission Company of Nigeria has confirmed that heavily armed men invaded its Offa 132kV Transmission Substation in Kwara State and held workers hostage during a midnight attack on the facility.
The incident, which reportedly occurred in the early hours of Thursday, forced the company to declare force majeure on the substation.
TCN disclosed this in a statement issued on Saturday by its General Manager, Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah.
According to the company, the attackers forcefully gained access to the control room of the transmission station and compelled operators on duty to shut down critical electricity feeders supplying power from the facility.
Mbah stated that the gunmen ordered the operator to disconnect the Offa and Ojoku 33kV feeders before demanding a complete shutdown of the substation.
“The attackers invaded the control room and held all personnel on duty hostage at gunpoint,” the statement said.
The company further revealed that the armed men tampered with vital control equipment during the operation.
According to TCN, some control switches and relay buttons were interfered with, while the 40MVA transformer at the station was shut down around 1:07am.
Despite the disruption, the company said efforts were immediately made to restore operations at the facility.
It explained that the transformer was restored minutes later at about 1:13am, while the Offa and Ojoku 33kV feeders were gradually brought back online shortly afterwards.
The TCN expressed regret over the disruption caused by the attack and reaffirmed its commitment to efficient transmission of electricity across the country.
The motive behind the invasion and forced shutdown could not be immediately determined as of the time of filing this report.
