Telecom infrastructure theft increased in Nigeria, with statistics showing that 656 generators and batteries were stolen from mobile network sites in 2025 alone.Analysis
by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), on its part, shows that 152 generators and 504 batteries were stolen within 2026 and the rate has not reduced since then.
According to the sources, in the first two months of 2026, operators reported 64 stolen batteries and 17 generators.
Within the same period under review, other types of vandalism were reportedly rising, with cable theft climbing fast.
There were recorded as 160 cases in January 2026, an increase from 74 thefts in the corresponding month last year.
The month of February followed a similar trajectory, with 151 cases recorded, compared with 73 cases just a year earlier.
Similarly, diesel theft was equally widespread, with 222 incidents recorded between January and February.
These losses are unarguably biting network operations.
Service disruptions are becoming more ramoant, especially in states such as Delta, Rivers, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Ogun, Ondo, Edo, Lagos, Kogi, the FCT, Kaduna, Niger, Osun and Kwara, with subscribers helplessly complaining endlessly of poor network.
Operators in the industry say the damage has advanced beyond theft of their equipment, including fibre optic cables which have also been 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. The rising figure alone buttresses how astronomical the problem is rising.
Fibre damage affects more than phone calls as it interrupts banking services, emergency response systems and internet access.
In several reported cases, repairs of such infrastructure take several hours or even days, leaving the affected users offline.
The financial cost is equally very burdensome.
Through our findings, a standard 15 KVA generator costs about ₦3.5 million.
When hundreds of such are stolen in a year, operators face replacement costs running into billions of naira.
Aside from these, the operators spend a huge amount of money providing security, on monitoring and effecting repairs.
Speaking on the nagging situation, the Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTCON), 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,” he said.
Also, another telecom consultant who spoke to Nairametrics, Adewale Adeoye, noted that 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,” the source stated.
In its part, 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.
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, the reason why telecom infrastructure is now designated as Critical National Infrastructure (CNI).
