Gunmen invade TCN Kwara power substation, hold workers hostage

The Transmission Company of Nigeria has reported that heavily armed men invaded the Offa 132kV Transmission Substation in Kwara State on Thursday morning and held workers hostage at gunpoint.

As a result, the TCN on Saturday declared force majeure on the Offa 132kV substation.

The company disclosed this in a statement issued on Saturday by its General Manager, Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah.

According to the company, the incident occurred in the early hours of Thursday when the attackers forced their way into the control room and compelled operators to shut down critical feeders supplying electricity from the station.

Mbah said the armed men ordered the operator on duty to open the Offa and Ojoku 33kV feeders before demanding a total shutdown of the substation.

“The Transmission Company of Nigeria, Osogbo Region, has declared force majeure on its Offa 132 kV Transmission Substation following a robbery incident at the facility. The substation was invaded by heavily armed men who forcefully gained access to the control room and held all personnel on duty hostage at gunpoint.

“The attackers ordered the operator on duty to open both the Offa and Ojoku 33kV feeders at exactly 12:45 am on Thursday, 7th May 2026. They further demanded a total shutdown of the substation,” Mbah said.

The TCN spokesperson further revealed that the attackers tampered with key control equipment during the operation.

“During the incident, control switches and relay buttons were tampered with, and the 40MVA transformer was opened at approximately 1:07 am,” she stated.

The company, however, said supply was gradually restored shortly after the incident.

Mbah explained that the 40MVA transformer was restored at 1:13 am, the Offa 33kV feeder was restored at 1:14 am, and the Ojoku 33kV feeder was restored at 2:15 am.

She said TCN regretted the inconvenience caused by the attack and reaffirmed its commitment to efficient 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.

It could not be immediately ascertained why the gunmen wanted the power station shut down.