NCC records over 5,000 fibre cuts amid road construction activities

Nigeria recorded more than 5,000 fibre-optic cable cuts in the first six months of 2026, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has disclosed, warning that the repeated damage poses a serious threat to the country’s digital economy and critical services.

NCC Executive Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Aminu Maida, disclosed this on Tuesday at a stakeholders’ workshop on the protection of telecommunications infrastructure during road construction and other civil works.

Maida said most of the incidents occurred during road excavation, construction and related civil engineering activities, largely because of inadequate coordination between construction companies and telecommunications operators before work commenced.

“Over 5,000 fibre cut incidents were reported on road excavation, construction, and related civil work,” he said.

The NCC chief stressed that fibre cuts should not be regarded as merely an operational expense for telecommunications companies, noting that the consequences extend to virtually every sector dependent on digital connectivity.

According to him, damaged fibre infrastructure can disrupt banking transactions, government services, healthcare delivery, education, commerce and security operations.

“To a machine operator on a construction site, it may appear to be one buried cable. To the nation, it can mean failed calls, poor payments, interrupted services, and missed opportunities,” Maida said.

He argued that many of the incidents were preventable if stakeholders shared information and coordinated activities before excavation began.

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“No road contractor sets out to disconnect the community. No telecommunications operator wants to obstruct the building of a road. No public agency wants one vital national project to undermine another. Our interests are aligned,” he said.

Maida called for a dependable system of early coordination, urging telecom operators to provide accurate information on cable routes, contractors to verify underground infrastructure before excavation, and government agencies to facilitate timely information sharing.

Effiom Ewa, Director of Critical National Security and Infrastructure Protection at the Office of the National Security Adviser, said fibre-optic infrastructure had been designated as critical national information infrastructure.

He warned that damage caused through negligence or interference could constitute an offence under Nigerian law.

“Every fibre-optic cable damage is more than a disruption to a network, or simply a cable cut. It is indeed a disruption to governance, economic productivity, public services, and daily lives of Nigerians,” Ewa said.

Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Works, Olarinre Adeladan, said road projects and telecommunications infrastructure frequently occupy the same physical space, making closer collaboration essential.

He called for better mapping of underground utilities and accurate information on fibre routes before excavation.

Similarly, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Nadungu Gagare, represented by the Director of Telecommunications and Postal Services, Stanley Musa, said recurring fibre cuts were undermining investments in broadband infrastructure.

Gagare said the incidents increase operators’ costs, weaken network resilience and disrupt services used by millions of Nigerians.

He disclosed that the Federal Government had established a tripartite standing committee involving government agencies, telecom operators and other stakeholders to strengthen the protection of fibre-optic infrastructure.