The residents of Maiduguri have been living in darkness for the past ten days as Boko Haram insurgents attacked Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and cut off electricity supply to Maiduguri and its environs.
It was learnt that the electricity blackout was a result of the destruction of an electricity tower in Mainok area along the Maiduguri – Damaturu road by the insurgents last week Monday morning.
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The three million residents of the city have been plunged into darkness after the insurgent group blew up transmission lines, in the third such attack in a month.
The blackout that has had lasted for 10 days, has forced residents to turn to generators as a source of power and solar systems for electricity supply.
A businesswoman Chizoba Kayode who deals in soft drinks disclosed that it has indeed affected her business, while urging the appropriate authorities to find a lasting solution to the problems.
“This blackout has indeed affected my sale, since last week Monday, I have been using generator to power my freezers yet customers complain that our drinks are not cold enough. We are appealing to them to restore the light to bring respite to us, “she said.
Bello Abdulbasir, an artisan, who expressed dismay over the blackout urged the federal government to wipe out the terrorists, citing that it has almost cripple the economy of the state capital.
“It is painful to experience this type of challenge. We rely on power to do our work. Now we are still counting days, no light. It is frustrating. Federal government should take a decisive action against these terrorists,” Bello lamented.
A generator repairer, Kauri Ko’ma noted that the blackout has improved their patronage in last few days in Maiduguri, the Borno State Capital.
“If you noticed that since early hour of Monday there was no electricity supply till now, we have been busy due to the blackout many of our old clients now bring their generators for repair,” Ko’ma said.
Yola Electricity Distribution Company confirmed the unfortunate incident while apologise to residents.
“Dear Esteemed Customers (Maiduguri metropolis),
“The management of YEDC wishes to sincerely apologize to our esteemed customers for the power outage affecting Maiduguri and environs due to a faulty TCN line.
“TCN maintenance crew are working to fix the faulty line and transmit bulk power to our network for onward distribution to end-users. Kindly bear with us.
“Good morning dear esteemed customers below is our energy allocation as of 6:00hrs. Kindly note that Maiduguri is still out of supply pending the completion of work by the TCN crew on the faulty line.” YEDC apologized on its Facebook page.
It was learnt that repairs are ongoing to fix the fault on the damaged tower and restore electricity to the city.
Mainok axis is known for Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) activities including setting up of checkpoints where they abduct commuters and carry out attacks on security forces.
Nigeria’s militant insurgency began in 2009. The conflict has since killed around 36,000 people and displaced around two million from their homes.
