Suspected vandals have sabotaged a High Tension Transmission Line by employing Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in Unguwar Kanawa, a suburb of the Bauchi State metropolis. This incident has prompted the police to initiate a manhunt for the perpetrators.

The power transmission, which passes through Bauchi, supplies electricity to other North-Eastern states.

Residents of the community reported overhearing a huge sound in the backyard and later discovered that the High Tension Mast had been brought down.

Confirming the incident, the spokesperson of the Bauchi State Police Command, Ahmed Mohammed Wakil, said the command had received a report about the incident from the Chief Security Officer of the Federal Polytechnic Bauchi.

“On 01/02/2024 at about 22:00 hrs, the Bauchi State Police Command received a report from the Chief Security Officer of Federal Polytechnic Bauchi indicating that on the quoted date, a loud sound was heard around an electric High Tension Transmission Line situated at the Anguwan Kanawa area, a suburb of the Bauchi metropolis.

“Consequently, a preliminary investigation revealed that a High Tension pole had collapsed and was damaged as a result of explosives used by suspected economic vandals. Furthermore, the vicinity was cordoned off and swept by the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Chemicals Biological Radioactive and Nuclear (EOD-CBRN) Operatives,” he said.

Wakil added that some remnant components of Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) were recovered from the scene.

He said a discreet, full-scale investigation into the incident was underway to ensure that the perpetrators were arrested and brought to justice.