Nigeria recorded more than 5,000 fibre-optic cable cuts in the first half of 2026, with road building, excavation and related civil-engineering work responsible for most of the damage, the Nigerian Communications Commission said.
The regulator called on construction firms, contractors, engineers and other participants in infrastructure projects to improve coordination and introduce safeguards for fibre networks during road construction, rehabilitation and excavation.
NCC Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Aminu Maida issued the appeal on Tuesday at a workshop on fibre-optic protection at the National Counter-Terrorism Centre, part of the Office of the National Security Adviser, in Abuja.
Maida said Nigeria’s efforts to expand its physical infrastructure should not weaken the digital systems that link people with information, public and private services, markets and economic opportunities. He described telecoms infrastructure as a vital national lifeline supporting banking, government operations, education, healthcare, trade, security and emergency communications.
Damage to fibre networks can interrupt essential services and create substantial costs for households, companies and the broader economy. Maida said a buried cable might look insignificant to an excavator operator, but its destruction could lead to failed calls, delayed payments, service outages and lost business opportunities.
Lessons from previous disruptions
- In February 2024, fibre damage linked in part to road construction caused an almost nationwide outage for one telecoms operator. Millions of customers were affected for several hours, increasing the strain on rival networks.
- Maida said the problem should not be framed as a dispute over responsibility. Road contractors do not set out to cut off communities, while telecom operators do not intend to hinder construction work.
- Instead, he called for a reliable system allowing road builders, network operators, government bodies and other stakeholders to coordinate before work begins and throughout project execution.
- The permanent secretaries of the Federal Ministry of Works and the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy have established a Standing Committee on the Protection of Fibre Optic Cables. The committee is tasked with creating workable coordination procedures for the periods before, during and after road projects.
- The committee has recently been broadened to include officials from the Office of the National Security Adviser, reflecting the security risks associated with protecting telecoms infrastructure.
Telecommunications infrastructure has been classified as Critical National Information Infrastructure. Maida said that designation means the networks must be treated as assets of national importance and receive appropriate protection.
He asked telecom operators, contractors, public agencies, regulators and security authorities to fulfil their respective responsibilities in preventing fibre damage.
“Nigeria needs roads that bring communities closer, but it must also preserve the fibre networks that power the economy. Both infrastructure systems are essential and must function together,” Maida said.
He also challenged workshop participants to produce practical procedures that would make coordination routine, rather than something undertaken only in exceptional cases, during roadworks and other excavation operations.
The meeting forms part of wider efforts by the NCC and its partners to establish permanent safeguards for telecommunications infrastructure, reduce service interruptions and advance Nigeria’s digital transformation plans.
It is expected to produce a framework for protecting fibre-optic telecoms infrastructure during road construction and other excavation-related activities.
