A sight of a dangling tower, one of which carries the 33 KV transmission line of the Jos Electricity Distribution Company, JED, to Makurdi from its transmission hub in Apir, sends instant fears to the beholder.

The reason is not far-fetched; the implication of having the tower crash down when the lines are energised is better imagined.

The death toll and properties that could go up in flames might be beyond comprehension. But this scary consequence was certainly not taken into account by the vandals who tampered with four of the 33KV towers in the Genabe axis on the outskirts of Makurdi town, positioned directly opposite Makurdi Correctional Centre and near the Lower Benue River Basin Development Authority, LBRBDA, Headquarters in Makurdi.

One of the towers that has remained energised is almost collapsing as parts of the angle bars used to fortify its base have all been removed by vandals.

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The gigantic tower was left dangling to the point of collapsing on the busy Makurdi-Aliade road in what looked like a devastating disaster waiting to happen. Findings indicated that the vandals also tampered with three other towers on that stretch, leaving them at the mercy of strong winds that could easily get them crashing down.

While no Genabe community member was ready to speak on how such a very important installation was vandalised by criminals, it is generally agreed by all those who expressed shock at the level of destruction of the towers that it could not have been done by people from outside.

That much was said by Mr. James Luger, a commercial bus driver who claimed that he plies the road on a regular basis. He said, “Those who did this couldn’t have come from outside; this immediate community should be held responsible for this act. How can anyone in his right senses decide to vandalise a tower like this? Maybe they do not know that if these towers come down today, several people who live around them might not survive it. The community must take steps to ensure that those behind this are arrested and handed over to the police because they are loosening the towers to sell the metals to buyers of scrap metal and, by so doing, endangering the lives of hundreds of people, including those locked up at the Correctional Services. Luckily, the JED officials have come to take urgent steps to save the towers from collapsing, but the community people must show responsibility by ensuring that they preserve their lives and property by being vigilant to arrest the vandals who, for the peanuts they sell scrap metal for, want to wipe out the community.”

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On his part, the Managing Director of JED, Engr. Abdu Bello Mohammed, who led a team from Jos to assess the damage done to the important power installations, expressed shock at the state of the towers after being tampered with by criminals. Mohammed who spoke on the importance of the towers to the residents of Makurdi town and the dangers of having them vandalised to the point of having them crash down, described the installation as a double-circuit 33KV tower. He said: “One is feeding GRA, Wadata/town, Wurukum, and High Level. And the second is feeding the entire North Bank area of Makurdi town up to Gbajimba in Guma Local Government Area, LGA. Then the Industrial Layout and Ankpa Quarters axis. Four of the towers were vandalised, and one is already twisted. If the affected towers come down, two-thirds of Makurdi town will be in darkness. Besides, if the towers come down while energised, anyone who comes in contact with them and the lines will be killed on the spot. In fact, everyone living in this neighbourhood will be endangered, as will road users and travellers on the Makurdi-Aliade road.

“I had to come here to see things for myself because these towers are very important to us as a company and our consumers as well. It carries two circuits of 33 KV lines, and if it collapses, that means the two circuits will be out of supply. And you can imagine the number of customers that will be out. What happened here is a case of vandalism. I initially thought it was a natural occurrence, but when I came here, I discovered it was an act of vandalism, which is most unfortunate. We also discovered that, apart from this one that is almost coming down, some others have been tampered with. So we are going to inspect the entire route length of this 33KV feeder to make sure that the tower members are returned to their normal positions so that there won’t be any twists like this again.

“In view of what happened here, my advice to the communities where we have our towers is that they should take ownership of the infrastructure. If the lines go out, they will be the first to be impacted. Apart from endangering their lives, they will not enjoy supply, and economic activities in the community will be badly affected. Imagine that there is no power supply and the tower falls on individuals, cars, or buildings; the damage will be great. Then, if it has power and falls, the consequences can only be imagined. That is one more reason why this must not be allowed to continue. The vandals targeting these installations must be stopped on their tracks because they are exposing innocent Nigerians to danger.”