Nigeria’s telecom regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), has partnered with the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to combat rising telecom-related crimes, with a particular focus on repeated damage to fibre optic infrastructure.
The initiative targets construction firms, contractors, and civil engineering projects that frequently cut cables during excavation, trenching, drilling, and roadworks carried out without coordination with network operators or regulators.
Out of more than 50,000 fibre cut incidents recorded in 2024, nearly 30,000 were linked to road construction projects led by federal and state authorities. Despite multiple preventive measures introduced over the past two years, the issue persists at scale.
Since August 2024, telecom infrastructure — including fibre optics — has been classified as Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII), making any damage a criminal offence. In February 2025, an inter-ministerial committee was formed to protect fibre assets, followed by a public reporting platform in May and the creation of an industry infrastructure protection group by telecom operators in April.
However, vandalism and accidental cuts continue. MTN alone reported 9,218 fibre cuts in 2025 so far — roughly 25 incidents per day — compared to about 9,000 in 2024.
The urgency is amplified by Nigeria’s US$2 billion national fibre rollout plan announced in May 2024, which aims to deploy 90,000 kilometres of fibre nationwide. Safeguarding this infrastructure is now critical to ensuring the country’s digital expansion, job creation, and economic growth are not undermined by preventable damage.
