The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has raised alarm over more than 5,000 fibre-optic cable cuts recorded in the first half of 2026, largely linked to road construction, rehabilitation, expansion and other forms of excavation activities.
The commission warned that repeated damage to telecommunications infrastructure could disrupt critical services, increase economic losses and undermine Nigeria’s digital transformation efforts.
The Executive Vice-Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, made the disclosure on Tuesday at a stakeholders’ workshop on the protection of fibre-optic cables in Abuja.
Maida advised road construction companies, contractors, engineers, government agencies and other stakeholders to improve coordination with the NCC and adopt preventive measures before commencing road construction, rehabilitation and other civil works.
He described communications infrastructure as a critical national lifeline supporting banking, government services, education, healthcare, commerce, security and emergency communications.
According to him, damage to fibre networks goes beyond telecommunications operators, as service disruptions can affect millions of citizens, businesses and public institutions.
“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.
He stressed that Nigeria’s physical infrastructure expansion must be pursued alongside the protection of the digital networks that connect citizens and drive economic activities.
“Our central message is simple: Nigeria must build the roads that connect our communities while protecting the fibre networks that connect our economy,” he said.
The NCC boss recalled that fibre cuts in February 2024, including those associated with road construction, triggered an almost network-wide disruption for one telecommunications operator, affecting millions of users for several hours and putting additional pressure on other networks.
However, Maida said the commission was not seeking to blame road contractors or telecommunications operators, noting that both sectors had legitimate infrastructure needs that required better coordination.
He said the Permanent Secretaries of the Federal Ministry of Works and the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy had established a Standing Committee on the Protection of Fibre Optic Cables.
The committee, he added, was created to develop practical mechanisms for coordinating activities before, during and after road construction and other works that could affect underground telecommunications infrastructure.
According to him, the designation requires telecommunications infrastructure to be treated as national infrastructure, with appropriate legal, regulatory and remedial measures applicable when damage occurs.
The workshop was organised as part of efforts to strengthen collaboration among relevant stakeholders, and is expected to produce a framework for protecting telecommunications fibre-optic infrastructure during road construction, excavation and other civil works.
