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| - A post circulating on the social media platform X claims that Nigeria’s national electricity grid collapsed on three different occasions in January 2026.
An X user @ Nazannwa posted the claim on January 27 with a caption:
“This is the 3rd time the national grid has fallen in January alone, and that 40 years old chipmunk was asking us, “how is tinubu destroying your 20s?”. if God pity am no take, ogun go take am.”
As of January 28, 2026, the post has generated 6500 views, 468 likes and over 135 reposts, with several commenters agreeing with the claim.
READ:Electricity: Claim that national grid has collapsed eighteen times in 2022 is FALSE
CLAIM
Nigeria’s national electricity grid collapsed three times in January 2026.
FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is FALSE.
While Nigeria’s national grid has experienced multiple collapses in recent years, available records do not support the claim.
On January 23, 2026, The ICIR reported that the national grid collapsed for the first time in 2026. The outage led to a nationwide blackout and was acknowledged by the Independent System Operator, marking another grid failure despite ongoing reforms in the power sector.
READ ALSO: Does Nigeria have low energy tariff in the world?
Four days later, on January 27, ICIR reported that the national grid collapsed for the second time in 2026, causing a nationwide blackout. Power generation dropped to zero megawatts, and all 11 electricity distribution companies recorded no power allocation. The incident was also confirmed by the Independent System Operator, highlighting ongoing instability in Nigeria’s power sector early in the year.
The day of the second grid collapse was the same day that the X user made the claim, and only one of such incidents was recorded that day.
Beyond these two incidents, there is no verified report from the Transmission Company of Nigeria, electricity distribution companies, or credible media organisations indicating that a third national grid collapse occurred in January 2026.
VERDICT
The claim that Nigeria’s national grid collapsed three times is FALSE. Verified reports confirm only two collapses, which occurred on January 23 and January 27, respectively.
Seasoned writer and literary curator, Zainab Abdulrasaq is a factchecker for The FactCheckHub in an effort to combat information disorder. She can be reached on IG @blackbookishgirl or zabdulrasaq@icirnigeria.org
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