ELECTRICITY: NISO threatens to disconnect Owerri from national grid over abduction of staff

By Obas Esiedesa, Abuja

The Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) has threatened to disconnect all transmission substations in Owerri, the Imo State capital, from the national grid following a violent intrusion by individuals allegedly acting on behalf of the Imo State Government.

In an operational incident report issued on Saturday, NISO said the intruders forcefully invaded and vandalised control rooms at the Egbu 132/33kV Transmission Substation in an attempt to compel system operators to grant an illegal outage.

According to the organisation, the attackers held on-duty personnel hostage at gunpoint and forced them to open breakers after disconnecting parts of the system.

NISO said several attempts to obtain clarification from the Imo State Government had gone unanswered.

The statement read: “Information received from Owerri indicates that state government operatives, allegedly acting on behalf of the Imo State Government, forcefully entered and vandalised the control rooms at the Egbu 132/33kV Transmission Substation in their bid to compel the operators to grant an illegal outage.

“After forcefully effecting disconnection at gunpoint, all NISO personnel on duty at the affected facilities were held hostage and compelled to open the breakers.

“Efforts to reach the Imo State Government for clarification have so far been unsuccessful. However, contact was made with the Chairman, Imo State Electricity Regulatory Commission, Engr. Bede Okpara, who confirmed awareness of the incident and promised to revert with additional information. As of the time of this report, no update has been provided, and no government agency or representative of the State Electricity Regulatory Commission has contacted NISO.

“The continued absence of official communication on the status of our personnel is of serious concern to NISO management. Given the severity of the situation and the danger it poses to the national grid, NISO has resolved to wait until 6:00 p.m. today, 15 November 2025, to establish the whereabouts and safety of the affected staff. If no information is received, all transmission substations within Owerri will be disconnected from the national grid.”

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