Vandals kill security man, destroy transmission towers in Rivers

From Isaac Anumihe, Abuja

Executive Director, Corporate Services of Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), Nkechi Mba has however, commiserated with the

deceased immediate and extended families, promising that the company will support them in their moment of grief.

“The company is grateful for his gallantry in the line of duty and we hereby pledge support for his family in this moment of great sorrow. We will be relentless in hunting these

vandals down, particularly those who assassinated the young man.”she said.

According to her, the necessity of re-enforcing the message of communal ownership of critical

infrastructure cannot be over- emphasised.

“The infrastructure that governments develop is done with

taxpayers’ money and is therefore owned by the people” she said, appealing that the public should regard infrastructure as commonwealth and strive

to jointly always protect it.

Mba expressed gratitude to law- enforcement agents for their continuous support in trying to engage

and deter economic criminals who vandalise NDPHC assets, saying the company will ensure that

anyone caught vandalising public assets will be made to face severe legal sanctions.

Meanwhile, several projects being embarked upon by NDPHC

have been attacked and contractors either killed or maimed by attackers.

On September 3, 2022, some miscreants attacked and vandalised the 330kV DC Afam – Onne

Transmission Line in Gbake Community of Ogoniland, Rivers State. The vandals cut down four

Transmission Towers (T19, T20, T21 and T22), dismantled and carted them away.

Again, on October 10, 2022, the vandals attacked and vandalised two additional towers on the same

330kV DC Afam – Onne Transmission Line. During a third attempt, luck, however, ran out on them as

efforts of vigilance members, buoyed by security operatives paid off, resulting in the arrest of nine of the

miscreants. They have since been charged to court to face the full wrath of the law.

“During routine patrol in the night of November 25, 2022, vigilance members again encountered vandals along the

same Afam-Onne 330kV DC Transmission Line. The vigilance group called for military reinforcement but

before help came, one of the guards was shot and later died.

“Incidentally, this line connecting Afam to Onne in Port Harcourt is the first 330kV Double Circuit

Transmission supply line to the capital of Rivers State.

The persistent attacks on the line have caused substantial damage to the transmission line project and it

will take huge sums of money to effect needed reconstruction and repairs in addition to resultant delays on delivery time” the statement, noted.