The recent national grid collapse that left parts of northern Nigeria in darkness has impacted not just businesses but also public institutions, including the Federal High Court in Kano. The power outage forced the court to significantly reduce its daily sessions due to the high cost of running diesel generators.
On Thursday, as lawyers and litigants gathered for proceedings, Justice Simon Ameboda informed the court that it would only sit for three hours, relying solely on the court’s generator for power. Many cases that were not ready for hearing were either stood down or adjourned.
A court staff member, speaking anonymously, disclosed that the previous day, the court had spent N1 million on diesel to power the generator.
In a related development, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has made progress in addressing the power outage. According to Ndidi Mbah, TCN’s General Manager of Public Affairs, the fault responsible for the outage was traced to a snapped 330-kilovolt (kV) transmission line located in the swampy forests of Igumale, Benue State.
Mbah explained that the fault spanned one section of the Ugwuaji-Apir 330kV double circuit transmission line, which had tripped and caused outages across several northern states. He added that TCN was preparing the necessary equipment and materials to begin repair work at the site on Thursday, aiming to restore power as soon as possible.
