Rising incidents of fibre cuts, equipment thefts, and vandalization of telecom infrastructure across Nigeria have created uncertainty and doubt around the government’s policy on Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII).
According to telecom operators, seven months after the Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, released the official gazette for the CNII, as signed by President Bola Tinubu, attacks on telecom infrastructure have continued without checks.
They attributed this to a lack of direction on the enforcement of the policy and the government’s failure to designate a specific security agency for the enforcement.
Financial losses to infrastructure damage
Highlighting the severity of the attacks on telecom infrastructure, Senior Manager at Broadbased Communications, Jude Ighomena, revealed that telecom operators lost an estimated N5 billion in 2024 due to infrastructure damage in Lagos State alone.
- According to him, over 2,500 fibre cuts were recorded in the state last year, causing widespread service disruptions and financial losses.
- He noted that Lagos’ busiest commercial districts—Ikeja, Lekki, and Victoria Island—are the most affected, with road construction and private developments frequently damaging underground fibre cables.
- Meanwhile, Alimosho and the Mainland areas are said to have become hotspots for fibre cable theft and vandalism.
“These recurring incidents stem from poor planning, lack of coordination, and overlapping regulatory mandates.
“With no centralised framework, government agencies, construction firms, and telecom operators work independently, leading to repeated damages without accountability,” he said.
As of December last year, Airtel Nigeria said it was recording an average of 43 fibre cuts daily across the country.
“On average, operators report multiple incidents daily, disrupting services to millions of Nigerians.
“Airtel Nigeria alone records a daily average of 43 fibre cuts and in the last six months, a total of 7,742,” said Airtel’s Director of Corporate Communications and CSR, Femi Adeniran.
Beyond financial losses, these disruptions affect businesses, banking services, emergency response systems, and general communication networks, causing frustration for millions of telecom users.
Lack of punitive measures encourages attacks
Although the CNII criminalizes any form of attack against telecom infrastructure, the Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Engr. Gbenga Adebayo said the current lack of effective prosecution has led to a culture of impunity, with individuals and organisations feeling they could damage public infrastructure without facing consequences.
Citing an example, Adebayo said:
“In England, if you crash into a telecommunications pole while driving, the state prosecutes the offender, not the telecoms provider.
“This highlights the seriousness of damaging public infrastructure, which can result in significant penalties, including imprisonment.”
- The ALTON boss stressed the need to apply a similar approach to protecting Nigeria’s Critical National Infrastructure (CNI).
- He added that by doing so, the government would not only be protecting the industry’s infrastructure but also ensuring the continued provision of essential communication services to the Nigerian people.
- He emphasized the need for a united front against these vandals, who were not only harming the telecommunications industry but also undermining the country’s economic growth and development.
Looking inwards for solutions
Meanwhile, with the realization that the government’s CNII policy alone cannot guarantee infrastructure safety except some internal and standardisation issues are first resolved by the operators.
- Adebayo stressed the importance of proper infrastructure maintenance and installation to prevent vandalism and theft.
- He highlighted the widespread issue of stolen manhole covers and poles, attributing the problem to poor maintenance practices.
“When properly installed, these components are difficult to remove. However, due to negligence, they are often left unsecured, making them easy targets for theft,” he said.
Adebayo also pointed out that community resistance to infrastructure projects has significantly hindered progress. He recounted instances where local communities prevented trucks from accessing sites due to previous unaddressed damages caused by contractors.
“A diesel supplier was blocked from entering an estate because a previous contractor had damaged their property and failed to make repairs. This lack of accountability breeds distrust and delays crucial projects,” he explained.
He urged stakeholders to foster better relationships with communities to prevent such conflicts.
Corroborating this, the President of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Mr. Tony Emoekpere, noted that standardisation is the key to long-term sustainability.
“If infrastructure is deployed in a suboptimal manner, failure is inevitable. We need to establish proper standards that all stakeholders—government, private sector, and the public—can align with,” he stated.
Aside from the CNII, Emoekpere emphasized that Nigeria has strong policies, such as local content policies, but implementation remains a major challenge.
According to him, the first major issue in the implementation of the CNII policy is to identify the government agency that the telecom operators can go to for enforcement.
What you should know
In August last year, President Bola Tinubu signed an official gazette designating telecom infrastructure as critical national information infrastructure and making it a criminal offence for anyone to wilfully destroy such infrastructure in the country.
- According to the Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, the gazette, ‘Designation and Protection of Critical National Information Infrastructure Order, 2024’, is a significant step that would strengthen and protect investments in the ICT sector.
- However, that was not the first time such a declaration would be made. In June 2020, the immediate past Minister of Communications, Dr. Isa Pantami announced a similar action by former President Muhammadu Buhari.
- According to Pantami, Buhari approved and also directed that the necessary physical protective measures be put in place to safeguard telecommunications infrastructure deployed across the country.
- That pronouncement failed to have any impact as vandalism of the infrastructure has remained a daily occurrence across the country to date.
