Power Minister Sets Up Panel to Stop Grid Attacks

The Federal Government has established a ministerial committee to prevent attacks on electricity infrastructure, as repeated cases of vandalism continue to disrupt power supply and increase repair costs across Nigeria.

The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, constituted the committee to coordinate efforts among security agencies and relevant institutions to protect facilities across the electricity value chain, including generation, transmission and distribution assets.

The committee held its inaugural meeting on Friday, October 9, 2026, with representatives of key security and government agencies in attendance.

Those present included the Special Adviser to the President on Homeland Security, Major General Adeyinka A. Famadewa, officials from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), representatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Power and directors from relevant agencies.

According to the ministry, the committee was established in response to attacks that damage critical installations, interrupt electricity supply, increase maintenance expenditure and undermine investments needed to improve the power sector.

The committee will work with the critical infrastructure unit of the Office of the National Security Adviser to strengthen the protection of electricity assets, treating their security as a national priority.

At the meeting, participants agreed on measures to improve coordination and prevent further attacks. These include enforcing existing laws against vandalism, ensuring offenders are prosecuted, deploying technology to protect critical infrastructure and increasing public awareness to discourage the destruction and theft of power equipment.

The committee is also expected to define the responsibilities of participating institutions to ensure a coordinated and sustained response to the problem.

The ministry said all participating agencies had pledged to work together to implement the agreed measures and improve the security of electricity infrastructure.

Vandalism has remained a challenge for Nigeria’s electricity industry, with damage to transmission towers, cables and other installations sometimes requiring costly repairs and contributing to supply interruptions.

In previous reports, the Transmission Company of Nigeria disclosed dozens of vandalism incidents affecting transmission infrastructure, while government officials have highlighted the billions of naira spent restoring damaged installations.

The committee is scheduled to reconvene next week to review progress and assess the implementation of its proposed measures.

The ministry said effective implementation would help reduce outages caused by attacks, improve electricity reliability and protect public and private investments across the power sector.