Residents in the Aba Ringfence, covering nine of Abia State's 17 local government areas, are facing a power outage after vandals attacked the Aba Power Plant's gas pipelines.

The attack occurred over the weekend when the vandals, reportedly searching for crude oil and petroleum products to steal, targeted the Eastern Gas Network, which supplies gas to the power station.

This was confirmed by Ugo Opiegbe, Managing Director of Aba Power, in a press statement released on Monday.

Opiegbe noted that the outage follows 31 days of uninterrupted power supply to the affected communities.

"After 31 days of consistent power, residents in the Aba Ringfence experienced their first power outage this weekend," Opiegbe stated. "We sincerely apologize for the loss of supply from Heirs Energies, in partnership with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited. We deeply regret the disruption to our customers, who have enjoyed continuous power since December 17, making them the first in Nigeria in years to benefit from such service."

Although the Aba Power MD did not specify the cause of the gas supply disruption from Heirs Energies, which operates Oil Mining Licence (OLM) 17 at Owaza, Ukwa West LGA, reliable sources informed journalists that the attack was carried out by vandals seeking to steal crude oil and petroleum products.

Since oil and gas pipelines are often laid together, thieves sometimes have difficulty distinguishing between the two.

Opiegbe assured residents that efforts are underway to restore power: "Despite the gas supply loss, some parts of the Aba Ringfence are still receiving electricity. We have quickly switched to the Niger Delta Power Holding Company for a temporary solution, though the supply is limited."

He promised continued efforts to restore full electricity to all affected communities: "We are committed to ensuring that all consumers in the nine LGAs within our coverage area enjoy uninterrupted power once again."