Vandalism knocks down transmission tower in Akwa Ibom disrupting power supply
Vandals have knocked down a major power transmission tower in Akwa Ibom State, leading to widespread electricity outages in several towns. The incident occurred at Tower T35 on the Eket–Ikot Abasi 132 kV transmission line in Ete Community, Ikot Abasi Local Government Area. TCN (Transmission Company of Nigeria) engineers inspected the site on October 12, 2025, and found many parts of the tower had been dismantled and removed. They also discovered that neighboring towers T7, T33, and T34 were tampered with.
Because of the tower collapse, bulk power supply through the Eket and Ekim 132/33 kV substations, as well as the Ibom Power Station, has been disrupted. As a result, customers in the Eket and Ekim towns are without electricity, since the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company cannot receive and distribute power from those substations.
The Transmission Company of Nigeria has started gathering resources to rebuild the collapsed tower. It has also called on local communities to be vigilant and report suspicious activity around power infrastructure to protect from further vandalism.
