Data obtained by Techeconomy from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) network outage portal showed that the incidents, averaging about 65 fibre cuts daily, disrupted voice, SMS, broadband, enterprise connectivity, fintech operations and digital services across several states during the first quarter of the year.

The figures translate to nearly 1,978 fibre cuts monthly and about 495 weekly, highlighting what industry stakeholders now describe as one of the biggest operational threats facing Nigeria’s digital economy.

Major operators affected during the period included MTN Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria, 9mobile, FibreOne, Tizeti, Layer3, Equinix, Broadband Communications Network (BCN), and other infrastructure providers.

The outages were largely linked to road construction activities, accidental cable damage, vandalism, excavation works, bush burning and infrastructure theft.

Industry analysts say the scale of the disruptions underscores the urgent need for stronger implementation of Nigeria’s Critical National Information Infrastructure protection framework, especially as the country accelerates broadband expansion, 5G rollout and digital public infrastructure initiatives.

Telecom Infrastructure under Pressure

For telecom operators, fibre infrastructure serves as the backbone of modern connectivity, supporting mobile networks, internet services, cloud computing, banking platforms, enterprise systems, government digital services and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence.

A single fibre cut can trigger cascading service failures affecting financial transactions, ATMs, hospitals, logistics systems, security infrastructure and millions of digital users simultaneously.

The recurring incidents are increasingly raising concerns among businesses already battling unstable power supply, rising operating costs and growing dependence on digital platforms.

Several of the most severe outages recorded in Q1 2026 lasted beyond 24 hours, while some network disruptions stretched into days and weeks, particularly in areas affected by ongoing construction activities.

Abuja, Lagos, Kano, Rivers, Kaduna, Enugu, Borno, Taraba, Anambra and Akwa Ibom were among states most affected by fibre-related outages during the quarter.

Why the NCC’s CNI Push Matters

The latest figures strengthen ongoing efforts by the NCC and industry stakeholders to secure telecom assets under Nigeria’s Critical National Information Infrastructure framework.

President Bola Tinubu had earlier signed an Executive Order designating telecommunications infrastructure as Critical National Information Infrastructure, giving telecom assets similar national importance status as oil pipelines, power infrastructure and security installations.

The designation was expected to reduce vandalism, improve coordination around infrastructure projects and strengthen enforcement against deliberate destruction of telecom facilities.

However, operators say implementation remains weak, particularly around road construction projects where fibre cables are frequently damaged during excavation works.

Telecom companies have repeatedly complained about poor coordination between contractors, state agencies and infrastructure operators, leading to repeated service disruptions and rising maintenance costs.

Industry executives estimate that operators spend billions of naira annually repairing damaged fibre infrastructure, resources that could otherwise be invested in network expansion, rural broadband deployment and service quality improvements.

Digital Economy at Risk

As stated by Dr. Aminu Maida, EVC/CEO of NCC as a recent workshop for judges, the fibre cuts crisis is emerging at a critical period for Nigeria’s digital economy ambitions.

The Federal Government continues to push for deeper broadband penetration, fintech expansion, digital identity systems, e-government services and artificial intelligence adoption, all of which depend heavily on stable telecom infrastructure.

Analysts warn that unless telecom infrastructure protection becomes fully integrated into national infrastructure planning, Nigeria risks undermining its digital transformation goals.

Repeated outages also threaten investor confidence within the telecommunications sector at a time operators are already contending with forex volatility, inflation, diesel costs and increasing capital expenditure requirements.

For businesses and consumers, however, the impact remains immediate: dropped calls, failed online transactions, slower internet speeds, interrupted digital services and prolonged downtime.

Industry stakeholders are therefore advocating stronger enforcement of CNII protection measures, adoption of “dig-once” policies during road construction, improved collaboration between government agencies and telecom operators, and stiffer penalties for vandalism and negligent infrastructure damage.

As Nigeria’s economy becomes increasingly digitised, experts say fibre infrastructure can no longer be treated as ordinary telecom equipment.

Instead, it is now viewed as strategic national infrastructure critical to economic productivity, financial stability, security and digital inclusion.

Driven by a directive from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) following a clean billing audit, the goal is to show users exactly how background app activities, automatic updates, and video streaming drain their balances as data consumption across the country skyrockets.

Operators have already started sending customers daily reports showing how much data they used the previous day.

An official at one of the telecom companies in Nigeria said the data depletion issue has become a major concern across the industry.

“An average subscriber believes their service provider steals their data once their data is exhausted before time or depletes faster than they expected, which is not true.

“Over the years, we have tried to enlighten the subscribers on factors that could lead to their data being depleted fast, which include smartphone functionality, among others.

“And now, we are looking at tools that could show the subscribers not just what they have used, but also how they have used it to further promote transparency,” the source said.

He added that operators are also stepping up public awareness campaigns to help subscribers understand why data may finish faster than expected.

The renewed drive for transparency comes as data usage across Nigeria gets more expensive.

Nigerians consumed more than four billion gigabytes of data in the first quarter of 2026, driven by heavy use of video streaming platforms, social media, fintech services and remote work tools.

That growth has also increased pressure on telecom infrastructure, with networks in many parts of the country now struggling during peak hours, leaving subscribers with slower internet speeds and unstable connections.

Many users often interpret those issues as abnormal data depletion.

Telecom operators are also dealing with worsening infrastructure problems. Industry data showed there were 19,384 fibre cuts in 2025, while another 5,934 incidents were recorded in the first quarter of 2026 alone.

At the same time, only about 25% of planned 4G expansion projects for 2026 have been completed, leaving networks overstretched as internet demand grows.

In December 2024, the NCC said it carried out a billing audit across major mobile networks after repeated complaints from subscribers. According to the regulator, the audit did not uncover any major issue linked to unfair data deductions.

The Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Dr Aminu Maida, said the exercise was completed in the third quarter of 2024 using independent auditors.

“We had a hypothesis that it isn’t true that there is a data depletion issue in the industry. It could be perception.

“So the first thing we did was that we immediately conducted a billing audit on the systems of the major MNOs, using reputable auditors. That exercise was completed in Q3 of this year (2024) and surprisingly, we didn’t find any major issues,” he said.

The NCC has repeatedly warned that several smartphone features and apps consume data without users actively using them. According to the commission, background app activity, cloud syncing, automatic updates and location services are some of the biggest causes of unexpected data usage.

The regulator advised subscribers to monitor their usage regularly, turn off background data access for selected apps and disable automatic updates where necessary.

It also recommended using Wi-Fi whenever possible and installing ad blockers to reduce unwanted data consumption from online advertisements.

Meanwhile, Nigeria is reviewing its 26-year-old telecom policy as the government looks to address growing pressure on the sector.

Proposed reforms include stronger consumer protection rules, new tariff structures, wider 5G deployment and tougher measures to protect telecom infrastructure from vandalism and fibre cuts.

Authorities say the reforms are aimed at improving digital access, strengthening cybersecurity and encouraging long-term investment in the country’s telecom industry, ultimately reducing data depletion across Nigeria.

Figures from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) show 152 generators and 504 batteries were taken within the year and the rate has not reduced since then.

In the first two months of 2026, operators reported 64 stolen batteries and 17 generators.

At the same time, other forms of vandalism are increasing, with cable theft climbing fast. There were 160 cases in January 2026, up from 74 in the same month last year.

February followed a similar pattern, with 151 cases compared to 73 a year earlier. Diesel theft is also widespread, with 222 incidents recorded between January and February.

These losses are hitting network operations. Service disruptions are becoming more frequent, especially in states such as Delta, Rivers, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Ogun, Ondo, Edo, Lagos, Kogi, the FCT, Kaduna, Niger, Osun and Kwara.

Operators in the industry say the damage goes beyond stolen equipment. Fibre optic cables are also under stress.

The NCC recorded about 1,100 fibre cuts in 2025 and in January 2026, incidents jumped steeply to 40, from just four cases in December. That jump alone shows how quickly the problem is growing.

Fibre damage affects more than phone calls. It interrupts banking services, emergency response systems and internet access. In many cases, repairs take hours or even days, leaving users offline.

The financial cost is heavy. A standard 15 KVA generator costs about ₦3.5 million. When hundreds are stolen in a year, operators face replacement costs running into billions of naira. On top of that, they spend more on security, monitoring and repairs.

Speaking on the situation, Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria, Gbenga Adebayo, said the attacks are slowing progress across the industry.

“These acts of sabotage have significantly disrupted network services, causing widespread connectivity blackouts leading to degradation of services and severely impacting millions of subscribers.

“These are not mere materials, but they are the backbone of our digital economy, security systems, and national communications grid,” he said.

Operators say they have continued to invest in network upgrades, but theft and vandalism are holding them back. Equipment being targeted includes power cables, rectifiers, fibre lines, diesel generators, batteries and solar systems.

A telecom consultant who spoke to Nairametrics, Adewale Adeoye, said the scale of the losses means operators must do more to protect their assets.

“If you are spending billions to build infrastructure, you also have to spend money to secure it.

“While this should not have been the case in an ideal situation where the government is responsible for security of lives and properties, years of continuous attacks and thefts have shown that the government cannot be relied upon.

“So, the telecom operators have to up their game in protecting their facilities,” he said.

The Federal Government had earlier moved to protect the sector. In August 2024, Bola Tinubu signed the Designation and Protection of Critical National Information Infrastructure Order. The law makes it a criminal offence to tamper with telecom infrastructure.

Officials say the policy is meant to protect investments and strengthen the digital economy. However, the growing number of thefts reveals enforcement is still a challenge.

In February 2026, the NCC and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps warned contractors and individuals against damaging fibre cables during construction. They said such actions now carry criminal penalties and promised stricter enforcement.

Even with those warnings, telecom theft, among other incidents, are still increasing in Nigeria.

The culprit wasn’t a nationwide power outage or a system hack, but something far more mundane, yet devastating: another cut in the underground fibre cables that carry Nigeria’s digital heartbeat.

Across the country, stories like this repeat almost daily. A road construction crew accidentally digs into a fibre line. Vandals rip out cables to sell as scrap.

Entire towns are plunged into digital silence. For telecoms operators, these fibre cuts are more than just inconveniences; they are costly disruptions, forcing constant repairs and reroutes.

For subscribers, they mean dropped calls, stalled businesses, and growing frustration in a world where connectivity is no longer a luxury but a lifeline.

In July 2025, MTN Nigeria said it recorded 760 fibre cuts nationwide, bringing the year-to-date total to over 5,478 incidents.

These disruptions, primarily caused by road construction and vandalism, continue to impact service quality across the country.

To restore the damaged fibre infrastructure, MTN Nigeria announced a scheduled network maintenance exercise to restore damaged fibre infrastructure affecting parts of Adamawa, Borno, and Kano States.

The telcho in a statement sighted by Techeconomy’s correspondent said that Sunday, August 24, 2025, between 6:00 AM and 8:00 AM, is expected to cause temporary service disruptions across 101 sites in 15 Local Government Areas (LGAs).

According to the telecoms giant, the planned work will cut over traffic to a newly installed fibre link, replacing damaged spans along the AFCOT–Bawo Village route in Adamawa State.

MTN explained that the upgrade is necessary to strengthen network stability and improve service quality for subscribers.

Affected Areas:

• Kano State: Nasarawa LGA
• Adamawa State: Girei, Song, Mubi North, Hong, Gombi, Fufore, Mubi South, Madagali, Michika, Maiha, Chibok, and Yola North LGAs
• Borno State: Askira/Uba and Shani LGAs

The maintenance will impact 2G, 3G, 4G, and 10 enterprise services during the two-hour window. MTN noted that the “linear and unprotected” nature of the fibre route makes it necessary to interrupt services while the work is carried out.

The company also disclosed that this intervention is part of ongoing efforts to mitigate the effect of over 5,478 fibre cuts recorded nationwide in 2025 alone, mostly due to road construction and vandalism.

One of such incidents in the North-East has made the current maintenance unavoidable.

“This unveiling is not just about repairs; it’s about improving the resilience of our network and ensuring that our customers can continue to rely on us,” the company stated, while apologising for any inconvenience the disruption may cause.

MTN assured subscribers that engineers will work swiftly to restore connectivity once the fibre cutover is complete, urging customers in the affected states to bear with them during the brief service downtime.

The Federal Ministry of Works (FMoW) and the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy (FMoCIDE) recently established a Joint Standing Committee on the Protection of Fiber Optic Cables to address the persistent issue of fiber optic cuts and damages caused by road construction and rehabilitation activities.

These disruptions have had a significant negative impact on telecommunications services across Nigeria.

The Joint Standing Committee on Protection of Fiber Optic Cables was inaugurated Tuesday 18th February at the Boardroom of the FMoW, by Engr. Olufunso Adebiyi, the permanent secretary, and his counterpart at the FMoCIDE, Engr Farouk Yusuf, with the attendance of Dr. Aminu Maida, the executive vice chairman/chief executive officer of the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC.

The Committee is comprised of key staff from the two ministries and the NCC.

The main assignment of the joint Standing Committee is to establish and maintain clear communication/co-ordination channels between the two ministries and the NCC in order to limit and prevent damage to Telecommunications Fiber Optic cables during road constructions or rehabilitation activities.

Engr. Adebiyi, while inaugurating the Committee, directed it to establish modalities to ensure the reduction of damage to deployed fiber optic cables resulting from road construction and maintenance activities, as well as vandalism which has caused severe incidences of service disruption across the country.

He said the Committee will serve as a coordinating body for all issues pertaining to the protection of fiber optic cables, before, during and after the completion of road constructions or maintenance activities, and will meet on a regular basis to discuss identified problems, agree on industry-wide solutions, set standard engagement processes and procedures, as well as share monthly performance reports.

“They are also expected to develop an instant communication mechanism to facilitate prompt communication and dissemination of information amongst all stakeholders,” he said.

He assured that going forward, the Ministry will ensure that the placement of fiber cables will be considered in the planning, design and construction of the country’s road networks, and would include providing for ducts during constructions.

Engr. Adebiyi further stated that the committee will work closely with all Federal Controllers of Works (FCW) to give attention to the task of protecting this sensitive infrastructure during the planning and implementation stages of projects across the roads in the country, while aligning with the telecom operators on all ongoing and future projects.

Engr. Farouk Yusuf, in his remarks, highlighted the significance of fiber optics cables to the country’s economy, stating that fiber networks are the backbone of Nigeria’s digital economy, enabling the seamless delivery of both fixed and mobile broadband services essential for nationwide connectivity, economic growth, and technological innovation.

He noted that the Committee’s work is crucial to ensuring that telecommunication services are not hampered by the work of construction companies.

Dr. Aminu Maida, the EVC/CEO of NCC, emphasized the significance of the Committee’s mandate, noting that it has the potential to significantly reduce service disruptions across Nigeria’s telecommunications industry.

“This is a pivotal moment for the telecommunication industry and its customers. Fiber networks are the foundation of Nigeria’s broadband ecosystem, providing the essential high-capacity backhaul required to deliver ultra-fast 4G and 5G speeds, as these next-generation mobile technologies rely on fiber infrastructure to ensure low latency, high reliability, and seamless data transmission.

“Last year, we experienced over 50,000 fiber cuts incidents across the country of which around 30,000 were attributed to Federal and State Road construction activities. In the extreme, some of these incidents had led to major network outages like the February 2024 nationwide MTN network outage.

“A key contributor to the increasing number of fiber cuts attributed to road construction activities is the lack of an efficient handshake mechanism between road construction companies and operators of the fiber infrastructure.

“I am optimistic that the work of this Committee will lead to a significant reduction in fiber cuts attributed to road construction which would then reduce network outages, avoid unnecessary expenditure on repair works and reduce the need to put redundant routes in place to serve as alternatives whenever there are outages due to fiber cuts.

“This initiative is not just for the benefit of the telecommunications industry but for all Nigerians. Every time a fiber cut occurs, consumers experience service disruptions. The industry is forced to invest in costly redundancy measures, but if we can prevent these avoidable disruptions, operators can redirect resources towards network expansion and infrastructure improvement,” Dr. Maida stated.

This statement was made by Dr Aminu Maida, the executive vice chairman of the NCC, during the inauguration of the Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) Protection and Resilience Workshop, an initiative aimed at fortifying the country’s communications infrastructure.

Dr. Maida’s address comes in the wake of President Bola Tinubu’s recent Executive Order designating telecom infrastructure as Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII). 

This designation aims to safeguard Nigeria’s telecommunications against threats that damage service quality and operational efficiency. The workshop also targets the implementation of the Executive Order effectively.

Dr Maida stated that the financial stress on operators, who are forced to spend billions on repairs and also preventative measures against ongoing attacks is a lot. “In addition, the limited access to telecom facilities imposed by both private landowners and government bodies limits expansion efforts, further worsening the connectivity problems,” he added.

Over the years, industry stakeholders have cried out for the recognition of telecom infrastructure as a national asset, urging the government to tackle the incidents of vandalism. 

Earlier this year, Gbenga Adebayo, the Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria, stated these issues following the internet outage caused by damaged fibre optic cables.

In 2023, MTN Nigeria reported over 6,000 fibre cuts, which prompted the operator to relocate approximately 2,500 kilometres of its vulnerable fibre lines at a cost exceeding N11 billion. This expenditure could have financed the installation of around 870 kilometres of new fibre lines in unserved areas.

Airtel Nigeria’s CEO, Carl Cruz, further revealed that the company encounters an alarming average of 1,000 fibre-cut incidents monthly, pointing to the urgent need for enhanced protection measures for telecom infrastructure.

While the recent classification of telecom infrastructure as a critical national asset has raised hopes for improved security, experts warn that the true effectiveness of this policy hinges on the government’s focus on enforcing it rigorously. 

Past attempts, such as the measures announced in June 2020 by former Communications Minister Dr. Isa Pantami, have yielded little success, with infrastructure vandalism remaining a pervasive issue.