Armed Men Invade TCN Offa Substation, Hold Staff Hostage

Heavily armed attackers on Thursday stormed the Offa 132kV Transmission Substation in Kwara State, disrupting operations and briefly holding workers of the Transmission Company of Nigeria hostage at gunpoint, according to the company.

The transmission firm said the incident, which occurred in the early hours of Thursday, forced operators to shut down key power feeders and led to a temporary declaration of force majeure on the facility.

In a statement issued by its General Manager, Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, the company explained that the gunmen forced their way into the control room, taking over operations and issuing direct instructions to on-duty staff.

The attackers reportedly ordered the opening of the Offa and Ojoku 33kV feeders at about 12:45 a.m. on May 7, 2026, before demanding a complete shutdown of the substation.

“During the invasion, the armed men held all personnel on duty hostage at gunpoint after gaining access to the control room,” the statement said.

The TCN added that the attackers also tampered with critical control systems, including switches and relay buttons, and later opened the 40MVA transformer at about 1:07 a.m.

Despite the disruption, the company confirmed that power supply was gradually restored shortly after the incident. The 40MVA transformer was restored at 1:13 a.m., while the Offa 33kV feeder came back online at 1:14 a.m., and the Ojoku 33kV feeder was restored by 2:15 a.m.

The firm expressed regret over the incident, noting the inconvenience caused to electricity consumers, while reaffirming its commitment to stable and efficient power 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.