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Bayelsa plunged into darkness as vandals destroy TCN towers

Published

2 months ago

August 2, 2024

Bayelsa plunged into darkness as vandals destroy TCN towers

Residents of Bayelsa State in the South-South region of Nigeria are experiencing a severe power outage following the announcement by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) that its towers in the state capital, Yenagoa, have been vandalized.

The spokesperson of TCN, Ndidi Mbah, made this revelation in a statement on Thursday.

Mbah reported that on July 29, 2024, vandals targeted transmission towers T98 and T99 along the Ahoada-Yenagoa 132kV line in the Igbooghene Community, causing both towers to collapse.

According to him, the incident has resulted in a power outage affecting the entire Bayelsa State, including TCN’s Yenagoa Substation and the Gbarain Power Station.

“The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) hereby states that two transmission towers, T98 and T99 along the Ahoada-Yenagoa 132kV line were vandalized on July 29, 2024, in the Igbooghene Community of Bayelsa State.

“This incident caused the collapse of both towers, cutting off the power supply to Bayelsa State, including TCN’s Yenagoa Substation and the Gbarain Power Station. Presently, Yenagoa Metropolis and the entire Bayelsa State are still without power supply,” TCN said.

Vandalism in other South-south Regions

In addition, TCN explained that similar vandalism of its infrastructures has taken place in other South-south regions including Ahoada and Port Harcourt in River State.

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The power company reported that an individual was caught last month vandalizing tower T238 along the Owerri-Ahoada 132kV double circuit transmission lines.

Mbah also mentioned another act of vandalism that occurred on June 10, 2024, at the Ahoada Transmission Substation.

Accordingly, TCN urged the public to help in the ongoing fight against the vandalism of power infrastructure nationwide, adding that the company will continue to collaborate with security operatives and host communities including the DSS and Civil Defence Corps to combat such menace.

“Our engineers led by the General Manager Transmission, Port Harcourt Region, Engr. Emmanuel Akpa accompanied by men from the DSS inspected the site of the vandalized towers. Plans are already ongoing to mobilize a contractor on an emergency basis to reconstruct the collapsed towers.

“This follows an incident on June 16, 2024, where an individual was caught vandalizing tower T238 along the Owerri-Ahoada 132kV double circuit transmission lines. Another act of vandalism occurred on June 10, 2024, at the Ahoada Transmission Substation.

“TCN is urging the public to help in the ongoing fight against the vandalism of power infrastructure nationwide. The company will continue to collaborate with security operatives and host communities including the DSS and Civil Defence Corps to combat the menace.

“Meanwhile, we are interfacing with stakeholders including security operatives in Yenagoa to put in place other initiatives geared towards helping TCN curtail the menace within the State,” TCN added.

Bayelsa plunged into darkness as vandals destroy TCN towers

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Police parade suspected ritualists, armed robbers in Osun

Published

9 hours ago

September 18, 2024

Trends Admin

Police parade suspected ritualists, armed robbers in Osun

The Osun State Police Command has said that it has arrested seven suspects for possession of human body parts.

The police made this revelation to journalists while parading the suspects at the Command headquarters in Osogbo on Wednesday.

The suspects paraded include Johnson Daniel, Adetunji Okunade, Olaniyan Azeez, Balogun Temitope Asimiyu, Oladapo Hammed, Kazeem Rasak and Asaka Rauf.

Addressing journalists, the Deputy Police Public Relations Officer, Giwa-Alade Emmanuel also said suspected human bone fragments, a female pant and note books were recovered as exhibits from the suspects at the point of arrest.

He said, “The above named suspects were arrested upon a credible information from a good spirited individual that, one Johnson Daniel ‘m’ a mortuary attendant at lpetu-ljesa sells portions of human remains deposited at the mortuary to native doctors whose names are listed above.

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“The said suspects use these remains gotten from the mortuary attendant (Johnson Daniel) for different ritual purposes. Daniel also confessed that, he conspired with one other mortuary attendant named Adetunji Okunade ‘m’ to sell remnant of water used in bathing corpses to interested native doctors.

“In the course of investigation, search were conducted at the residences of these suspects which led to the recovery of fragment of substances suspected to be human skull at Asaka Rauf ‘m’ and Oladapo Hammed ‘m’ residences while a female pant and a note book containing instructions on ritual practices were recovered from Balogun Temitope Asimiyu’s residence.”

Giwa-Alade hinted that the suspects have been charged to court.

Similarly, the police paraded Taiwo Adekunle, Adebayo Opeyemi, Hasan Ibrahim, Oba Wasiu and Olajide Oladapo for alleged armed robbery.

Exhibits recovered at the point of arrest include a Ford Jeep with registration number SMK945OS, Hunter motorcycle with registration number WWD604QF, one empty shell cartridge, one Iphone and one magnet.

Police parade suspected ritualists, armed robbers in Osun

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Troops kill many terrorists in Kaduna, hostages rescued, arms recovered

Published

10 hours ago

September 18, 2024

Trends Admin

Troops kill many terrorists in Kaduna, hostages rescued, arms recovered

Many terrorists have been neutralised in Kaduna State after they were ambushed in a sting by troops.

The troops also recovered weapons, logistics and rescued hostages during the operation that took place on 17 September 2024.

The Nigerian Army announced the triumph in a statement on its social media platform on Wednesday.

According to the statement, acting on credible intelligence, the troops intercepted the terrorists while they are attempting to cross from Alawa Forest in Niger State to Birnin Gwari in Kaduna State.

“The ambush led to a fierce firefight, resulting in the elimination of two terrorists, while others managed to flee. Troops recovered two AK-47 rifles, two magazines, and three motorcycles at the scene,” it said.

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In a separate operation, troops acted on intelligence about the movement of terrorists at Hayin Nakwakina village in Giwa Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

“Troops sprung an ambush against the terrorists, neutralizing two of them and subsequently restoring normalcy in the village that had been earlier displaced by the terrorists.

“Troops also recovered two motorcycles, a mobile phone, and machetes abandoned by the fleeing terrorists,” it said.

Responding to a distress call on Tuesday, 17 September 2024, troops rescued 20 hostages who had been abducted by marauding terrorists along the Kwaga-Polewire axis of Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

The troops successfully rescued the abductees after a shootout that overwhelmed the terrorists, compelling them to flee.

Troops kill many terrorists in Kaduna, hostages rescued, arms recovered

metro

Another boat capsizes in Zamfara, Four children dead, 12 hospitalised

Published

11 hours ago

September 18, 2024

Trends Admin

File photo

Another boat capsizes in Zamfara, Four children dead, 12 hospitalised

Another boat carrying 46 passengers capsized in Mashayar Garba Rogo, Bukkuyum town, Bukkuyum Local Government Area of Zamfara state, resulting in the d3ath of four children.

Four children d!e, 12 hospitalized as another boat capsizes in Zamfara The latest incident occurred around 10:30 am on Tuesday, September 17, 2024, barely a week after a boat mishap in Gummi Local Government Area of the state claimed over 30 lives.

According to a local resident, Malam Aliyu Umar Bukkuyum, two bodies of the children were recovered, while the other two remain missing.

Twelve people are currently unconscious and receiving treatment at General Hospital Bukkuyum.

One of the survivors, Buhari Usman (also known as Messi), reported that the boat had about 50 passengers, mostly children and a few adults, who were travelling across the Zamfara River to reach their farms.

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He explained that midway through the journey, the boat began to behave erratically and capsized despite efforts by the boat captains to stabilize it.

“I personally rescued 12 children and some adults. We managed to save a good number of the victims, but unfortunately, four died. Two bodies have been recovered, while the other two remain missing,” he said.

The Sole Administrator of Bukkuyum, Hon. Nasiru Muhammad (DG), confirmed the incident, attributing it to overloading, anxiety, and failure to follow proper boating guidelines.

He noted that the government is caring for the 12 rescued victims at the hospital and promised that measures would be taken to prevent similar accidents in the future.

Search efforts are ongoing to locate the two missing passengers.