Nigeria was thrown into widespread darkness on Friday after the national electricity grid collapsed, marking the first such incident recorded in 2026.
The system failure occurred at around 1 p.m., when power supply to all electricity distribution companies (DisCos) was completely cut off.
Data from the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) indicated that electricity generation fell to zero megawatts (MW), resulting in a nationwide blackout.
The collapse came shortly after grid operators reported strong electricity demand in major urban centres.
Before the system failure, Abuja Electricity Distribution Company was receiving about 639 MW, while Ikeja Electric drew approximately 630 MW, reflecting what officials described as robust demand across key cities.
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), which manages the national grid, had yet to disclose the cause of the collapse as of the time of filing this report.
Although restoration efforts were said to be ongoing, the timeline for full recovery remained unclear.