NCC Demands Stronger Protection for Nigeria’s Fibre Networks

More than 5,000 fibre-optic cable cuts were recorded across Nigeria in the first half of 2026, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has disclosed, warning that unchecked damage to telecommunications infrastructure could disrupt critical services and worsen economic losses.

The Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NCC, Dr Aminu Maida, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja at a stakeholders’ workshop on the protection of fibre-optic cables during road construction and other civil works.
Maida called on road construction companies, contractors, engineers, government agencies and other stakeholders to strengthen coordination before embarking on excavation, road rehabilitation and other projects capable of damaging buried fibre networks.
He said Nigeria’s rapid expansion of physical infrastructure must not come at the expense of the digital networks increasingly powering the country’s economy.
The workshop, held at the National Counter-Terrorism Centre (NCTC), Office of the National Security Adviser, brought together stakeholders to develop practical measures for preventing fibre cuts and reducing disruptions to telecommunications services.
Maida said the scale of the problem had become too significant to ignore, with more than 5,000 fibre-cut incidents recorded between January and June 2026.
He warned that every damaged fibre cable could have consequences far beyond the immediate construction site, affecting telecommunications services, financial transactions, government operations, healthcare, education, commerce and security communications.
“To a machine operator on a construction site, it may appear to be one buried cable. To the nation, it can mean failed calls, stalled payments, interrupted services and missed opportunities,” Maida said.
The NCC boss said communications infrastructure had become a critical national lifeline, making its protection a matter of economic and national importance.
Maida recalled the near network-wide disruption suffered by one telecommunications operator in February 2024 following fibre cuts, including damage associated with road construction.
The incident, he said, affected millions of users for several hours and placed additional pressure on other telecommunications networks.
He said the experience demonstrated the vulnerability of Nigeria’s digital economy when critical fibre infrastructure is damaged without adequate contingency measures.
The NCC EVC stressed that the objective was not to blame road contractors or telecommunications operators but to establish a system in which both physical and digital infrastructure could develop without one undermining the other.
He said no contractor deliberately sets out to disconnect communities, just as telecommunications operators do not intend to obstruct road construction.
According to him, the solution lies in early coordination, proper mapping of underground infrastructure and timely communication among all stakeholders.
“Our central message is simple: Nigeria must build the roads that connect our communities while protecting the fibre networks that connect our economy. We need both forms of infrastructure, and we need them to work together,” Maida said.
The NCC boss disclosed that the Permanent Secretaries of the Federal Ministry of Works and the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy had inaugurated a Standing Committee on the Protection of Fibre Optic Cables.
He said the committee was established to develop practical coordination mechanisms for protecting telecommunications infrastructure before, during and after road construction and related civil works.
He added that the committee’s membership had recently been expanded to include representatives of the Office of the National Security Adviser, reflecting the growing security implications of damage to telecommunications infrastructure.
Telecoms Infrastructure Now Critical National Asset
Maida said telecommunications infrastructure had been designated as Critical National Information Infrastructure, requiring stronger protection and appropriate legal, regulatory and remedial measures against damage.
He urged telecommunications operators, contractors, government agencies, regulators and security agencies to assume their respective responsibilities in protecting fibre networks.
According to him, coordination must no longer be treated as an optional step but incorporated into the planning and execution of road and excavation projects from the outset.
The workshop is expected to culminate in the development of a framework for protecting fibre-optic infrastructure during road construction, excavation and other civil works.
Maida said the objective was to institutionalise a system that would minimise service disruptions, safeguard critical telecommunications infrastructure and support Nigeria’s digital transformation.
With more than 5,000 fibre cuts recorded in just six months, the NCC is pushing for stronger collaboration between the physical infrastructure and telecommunications sectors, warning that Nigeria’s economic connectivity increasingly depends on keeping both networks intact.