The Transmission Company of Nigeria has declared force majeure on its Offa 132kV Transmission Substation following a dramatic overnight robbery attack that disrupted operations and forced an emergency shutdown of critical power infrastructure.
In a statement issued by the company’s General Manager, Public Affairs, Mrs. Ndidi Mbah, TCN disclosed that heavily armed men stormed the Offa transmission facility in the Osogbo Region, overpowered security arrangements, and held staff on duty hostage at gunpoint during the terrifying operation.
According to the statement, the attackers forcefully gained access to the control room and ordered the operator on duty to immediately shut down both the Offa and Ojoku 33kV feeders at exactly 12:45 a.m. on Thursday, May 7, 2026.
The assailants reportedly went further, demanding a complete shutdown of the substation.
“Control switches and relay buttons were tampered with, and the 40MVA transformer was opened at approximately 1:07 a.m.,” the statement revealed.
The incident triggered temporary disruption within the network before engineers moved swiftly to restore operations.
TCN said the 40MVA transformer was restored at about 1:13 a.m., while the Offa 33kV feeder came back on stream at 1:14 a.m. The Ojoku 33kV feeder was eventually restored at 2:15 a.m.
The company, however, expressed regret over the disruption caused by the incident and reassured Nigerians of its commitment to maintaining efficient bulk electricity transmission nationwide.
“TCN regrets the inconvenience this incident may have caused and reaffirms its mandate to transmit bulk electricity efficiently to distribution companies’ load centres across the country,” the statement added.
The shocking invasion has raised fresh concerns over the security of Nigeria’s critical power infrastructure amid growing fears about attacks on national assets and the vulnerability of transmission facilities to criminal operations.
