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By Chinenye Anuforo
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Although the federal government has repeatedly said it appreciates the place of digitisation in accelerating economic growth, there are concerns around safeguarding the nation’s digital infrastructure.
Experts who have offered dispassionate views on the incessant challenge of telecom infrastructure sabotage insist that if issues around consistent fibre cuts and outright vandalism are not tackled headlong, the country’s dream for a robust digital economy may not materialise.
According to them, the alarming rate of the attacks have pushed the industry to its breaking point, forcing telecom operators under the auspices of Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) to call for immediate and coordinated action to avert what appears a looming nationwide communications blackout.
The spike in vandalism became more apparent after the federal government stepped in earlier this year with strong measures to support the telecom industry’s growth.
In response, ALTON members invested heavily in upgrading and strengthening their networks.
According to the Chairman of ALTON, Gbenga Adebayo, the level of investment in the industry has been handsome.
“Our industry has not seen this scale of investment in recent years. We are working round the clock to improve the quality of service nationwide and we cannot afford these setbacks”, he said.
Fibre cuts, in particular, have emerged as a pervasive and costly problem for Nigeria’s telecom sector, leading to disruptions in services, economic losses, and hindering of the country’s digital transformation goals. This has inevitably led to an increase in service outages, often pitching frustrated subscribers against telecom operators.
Optical fibre networks, with their enhanced features and superior advantages over traditional copper-based and wireless backhaul transmission solutions, form the backbone of modern communication. Most network operators have deployed hundreds of thousands of kilometres of this infrastructure across the nation, aiming to deliver the high standard of network quality that customers demand.
Indeed, the federal government, through a planned $2 billion investment, is set to deploy an additional 90,000km of fibre optic by the last quarter of 2025, hoping to significantly boost the country’s connectivity. However, this promising expansion is being threatened by the escalating sabotage.
Between May and July 2025, a destructive wave swept across cell sites in key states including Rivers, Ogun, Osun, Imo, Kogi, Ekiti, Lagos, and the Federal Capital Territory Abuja, among others. These acts of sabotage have not only disrupted network services but also caused widespread connectivity blackouts, severely impacting millions of subscribers. Beyond deliberate vandalism, the equally damaging issue of fibre cuts during road construction and civil infrastructure projects along major highways and urban roads has led to significant service outages and financial losses for operators.
These disruptions have far-reaching consequences. Fibre cuts lead to widespread blackouts, affecting voice calls, SMS, USSD codes (crucial for banking and financial transactions), and mobile data services. This directly impacts personal communications and business operations. Essential services like banking, digital payments, government services, and emergency responses heavily rely on telecom infrastructure and suffer severely during outages. The ripple effect on the business community, which thrives on internet connectivity, is dire, impacting national security and the output of businesses whose progress runs largely on the wheels of telecommunications.
Monitoring from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has shown disruptions across numerous states, including Rivers, Katsina, Lagos, Enugu, Benue, Anambra, Imo, Abia, Akwa Ibom, Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara, Borno, and Adamawa, impacting major operators like MTN, Airtel, 9Mobile, and Globacom.
Beyond the statistics, Nigerians are bearing the brunt of these infrastructure failures. On social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter),
Nigerians showed their frustrations. User @SerrCoker_1 recounted a recent ordeal:
“Last week, my MTN WiFi was so slow I felt like I was sending emails via pigeon at 22KB/s. I couldn’t upload content. Reply or get on X. Couldn’t attend meetings. Even WhatsApp texts were loading like it was 2004.” This user lamented that such bad service is fast becoming normal for a lot of people here. And it’s exhausting. The sentiment underscored a deeper issue: “Every week, young people in this country are expected to compete globally while working with infrastructure that constantly fails them.”
Another user, @nuel_idu, reiterated this concern, stating, “Until there’s intentional investment in digital infrastructure across Africa, these frustrations will only keep cycling. No one can build anything sustainable on shaky foundations.”
The direct impact on daily digital life is further highlighted by @ozenua_, who complained, “Do you know that with @AirtelNigeria you can’t access up to 80% of websites you try visiting because they seem to have blocked all the IPs. This is also alongside their super troublesome internet service that serves you a whooping maximum of 5MBPs.” Similarly, @olumoko_funmi expressed disbelief: “I’m not sure Nigerians know how bad we’ve got it. MTN 4G is giving me single digit traffic. Single digit, my God. This is supposedly the best network in the country.” The financial burden on consumers is also evident, as @Nee_Agric shared, “I’d been experiencing back and forth with @AirtelNigeria on issues related to non existent/poor Internet access for quite awhile recently n d issues still persist though they had promised sorting it out. But then I’m not getting value for the money spent on subscription charges.” These personal accounts painted a vivid picture of a digital economy hampered by unreliable connectivity, directly attributable to the ongoing challenges of fibre cuts and vandalism.
The telecommunications sector experienced over 40 major network outages as of May 2025, driven by a surge in vandalism, fibre-optic cable cuts, and persistent power shortages. In the last week of May, fibre cuts in Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara, and Yobe crippled businesses, leaving residents unable to make calls, send SMS, or use data.
Telecom operators report an alarming frequency of cuts. Airtel, for instance, has reported an average of 43 fibre cuts daily, amounting to over 7,700 cases in just six months. MTN Nigeria faced nearly 40 fibre cuts daily, totaling over 6,000 in 2023. Earlier this year, telcos disclosed that they suffered 2,500 fibre cuts in Lagos in 2024, costing an estimated N5 billion ($6.25 million) in losses. High-risk zones like Ikeja, Lekki, and Victoria Island, where road expansions and private developments frequently disrupt connectivity, have been particularly affected.
The stolen and vandalised components are not mere materials, they are the very foundation of Nigeria’s digital economy. Critical items like power cables, rectifiers, fibre optic cables, feeder cables, diesel generators, batteries, and solar systems are being plundered from active sites, fueling a thriving black market. ALTON pointed out that stolen batteries are being resold for home and office inverters, solar panels are stripped for unsuspecting households, and diesel fuel is siphoned for illicit trade.
Jude Ighomena, a senior official with Broadbased Communications, highlighted the persistent nature of fibre cuts despite existing regulations. He listed key causes as construction and urban development, illegal excavation and vandalism, and the complexities arising from multiple regulatory authorities. The impacts, he reiterated, are huge economic losses, service disruptions, consumer frustration, and security concerns. Ighomena advocated for a robust compensation and redress framework, stricter enforcement, and stakeholder engagement to hold offenders accountable and safeguard telecom investments.
The financial drain on operators is immense. Telecom companies incur substantial costs for repairing damaged cables and relocating vulnerable fibre lines. MTN Nigeria alone spent N11.1 billion between 2022 and 2023 to repair and relocate 2,502km of fibre optic cables. The total cost to the Nigerian telecom industry from repairs and revenue losses due to damaged cables was estimated at almost N27 billion ($23 million) in 2023. Funds that could have been used for network expansion and broadband penetration in underserved areas are instead redirected to repairs. For instance, the N11 billion MTN spent on repairs and relocation could have built 870 km of new fibre lines. Beyond repair costs, operators suffer revenue losses due to service disruptions, customer compensation obligations, and the need for redundant infrastructure. Businesses relying on connectivity experience downtime, lost transactions, and reduced productivity, leading to significant economic losses for the broader economy.
The public is reminded that telecommunications infrastructure is legally classified as Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) under the National Security framework, a designation backed by Federal Government Gazette No. 133, Volume 108, dated March 17, 2021. Vandalism, sabotage, or illegal possession of these assets constitutes a serious criminal offense with severe repercussions. ALTON implored citizens to exercise vigilance and abstain from purchasing suspicious equipment, emphasizing that complicity in such transactions makes one part of the crime.
In a desperate plea, ALTON has called upon the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), the Inspector General of Police, the Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS), and the Commandant General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to immediately deploy necessary resources to protect telecommunications infrastructure. The association warns that failure to act swiftly could lead to a “total breakdown of communications across the country.”
ALTON, however, commended the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for its proactive stance in safeguarding national telecom infrastructure, particularly through the establishment of a dedicated reporting portal. This initiative allows citizens to report incidents of vandalism or suspicious activity via [email protected] or by dialing 622.
“Such forward-thinking measures are vital to ensuring the resilience and security of our communications network,” ALTON acknowledged.
“This is a desperate and urgent hour. The industry cannot fight this battle alone,” ALTON declared in its statement.
It added: “We need coordinated national action by the security agencies, the government at all levels, regulators, the media, civil society, and the public. Our national security, economic stability, and digital future depend on it. The time to act is now.” The fate of Nigeria’s digital economy hangs in the balance, awaiting a collective resolve to protect its most vital lifeline.
