The Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, has raised concerns over more than 5,000 fibre optic cable cuts recorded across Nigeria in the first six months of 2026.
The commission said most of the incidents were linked to road construction, excavation and other civil engineering activities, warning that continued damage to telecommunications infrastructure could disrupt critical services and impose significant costs on citizens and businesses.
The Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NCC, Dr Aminu Maida, raised the concern on Tuesday at a stakeholders’ workshop on the protection of fibre optic cables held at the National Counter Terrorism Centre, Office of the National Security Adviser, in Abuja.
Maida urged road construction companies, contractors, engineers, government agencies and other stakeholders to improve coordination and adopt preventive measures to protect fibre infrastructure during construction and rehabilitation projects.
He said Nigeria’s efforts to expand physical infrastructure must be carried out alongside measures to protect the digital infrastructure that connects citizens to information, services, markets and economic opportunities.
According to him, telecommunications infrastructure has become a critical national lifeline supporting banking, government services, education, healthcare, commerce, security and emergency communications.
He warned that damage to fibre infrastructure could lead to widespread disruption of essential services.
“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 chief executive recalled that fibre cuts in February 2024, including those caused by road construction, triggered an almost network wide disruption for one telecommunications operator, affecting millions of users for several hours and placing additional pressure on other networks.
Maida stressed that the challenge should not be viewed as an attempt to assign blame to road contractors or telecommunications operators.
He noted that contractors did not deliberately seek to disconnect communities, just as telecommunications companies did not intend to obstruct construction projects.
Rather, he called for a dependable system of early coordination between road contractors, telecommunications operators, government agencies and other stakeholders.
Maida disclosed that the Permanent Secretaries of the Federal Ministry of Works and the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy had inaugurated the Standing Committee on the Protection of Fibre Optic Cables.
He said the committee was established to develop practical coordination mechanisms before, during and after road construction activities.
The committee has also been expanded to include representatives of the Office of the National Security Adviser, reflecting the security implications associated with protecting telecommunications infrastructure.
Maida said telecommunications infrastructure had been designated as Critical National Information Infrastructure and must therefore receive adequate protection as a national asset.
He urged telecommunications operators, contractors, government agencies, regulators and security agencies to play their respective roles in preventing damage to fibre optic cables.
“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,” he said.
Maida further urged participants at the workshop to develop practical measures that would make coordination a standard practice during road construction and excavation activities.
The workshop forms part of ongoing efforts by the NCC and other stakeholders to establish mechanisms for protecting telecommunications infrastructure, reducing service disruptions and supporting Nigeria’s digital transformation agenda.
The engagement is also expected to produce a framework for protecting fibre optic infrastructure during road construction and other excavation activities across the country.
