…Firms see over 680 outages in seven months
…MTN Nigeria budgets N26.3bn for fibre cuts repairs, relocation
The federal government has yet to fully secure telecoms investments valued at $75.6 billion, one year after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu classified them as critical national infrastructure.
The industry is still hit by rampant vandalism, sabotage, and construction-related disruptions.
The Nigerian government issued an executive order on June 24, 2024, to strengthen infrastructure protection under the Cybercrime Act of 2015 and the National Security Enhancements Act of 2023, but that has not stopped telecoms investments from suffering devastating damage.
Data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) between January 1 and July 28, 2025, paints a grim picture of the damage inflicted across telecom networks. During the seven-month period, a total of 686 major outages were recorded, with MTN experiencing 138, and Airtel seeing 110. Globacom saw 108 major outages, and 9mobile a staggering 330, all linked to fibre cuts and infrastructure breaches.
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MTN Nigeria offered a broader context, as Yahaya Ibrahim, the company’s chief technical officer, disclosed that MTN spent N17.6 billion in 2024 on identifying, managing, and repairing damaged fibre cables.
He noted that by mid-2025, the operator had already recorded 4,700 additional fibre cuts, bringing the total to over 13,700 incidents in just 18 months.
Ibrahim told BusinessDay that MTN Nigeria has budgeted N26.3 billion for 2025 to address fibre cuts and relocation challenges.
He stated that the highest number of fibre cuts occurred in Nigeria’s South-East and South-South regions, with the regions seeing over 3,500 cuts.
“These regions include Abia, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, and Delta States, where repeated vandalism has paralysed service infrastructure. Notorious hotspots like Omoku in Rivers and Egbema, straddling Imo and Rivers, have become epicentres of sabotage,” he revealed.
The South-West, including Lagos, Ogun, Osun, and Ekiti, has recorded over 2,800 cuts, while the northern region, comprising states like Kano, Kaduna, Plateau, and the FCT, accounts for more than 2,500 fibre cuts.
According to Ibrahim, the root causes of these disruptions are sabotage, vandalism, and road construction, which together account for 69 percent of all fibre cuts nationwide. He stressed that the consequences are dire, noting that when fibres are cut, services across voice, data, and mobile financial transactions go offline, with an average monthly downtime of about 15 hours per region.
He said the impact is particularly devastating in underserved areas with limited network redundancy, where a single cut can completely isolate communities from digital services.
“Fibre vandalism is a growing nightmare. We are seeing significant spikes in the South-East and South-South regions, with over 3,500 cuts. States like Akwa Ibom, Abia, and Rivers are leading the chart, and specific locations such as Omoku and Egbema are notorious hotspots for consistent sabotage,” Ibrahim said.
He said telecoms are no longer a luxury, but a vital engine of national life.
“An attack on telecoms is an attack on the economy. Telecommunications now power every aspect of our lives, including economy, education, emergency services, health care, and even social interactions. When you cut fibre, you don’t just disrupt a phone line, you paralyze critical functions.”
To mitigate the rising incidents, MTN is adopting a multi-pronged approach that includes route patrols, real-time monitoring, construction bypasses, fibre relocation, and collaboration with communities for infrastructure policing. The company is also engaging with construction firms and relevant authorities to ensure better coordination during roadworks.
Despite these efforts, Ibrahim noted that private operators cannot shoulder the burden alone, even as he called on the federal government to move beyond policy declarations and take actionable steps. “Educate the public, enforce the law, work with construction firms to coordinate roadworks, and empower communities to protect infrastructure,” he urged.
The challenge is industry-wide. Airtel Nigeria, another major operator, has reported an average of 43 fibre cuts daily, linking most incidents to construction activities, theft, and deliberate sabotage. The company has echoed calls for more robust enforcement and the adoption of smart monitoring technologies.
Gbenga Adebayo, chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), also raised the alarm over the scale of the destruction. He said telecom infrastructures in states such as Rivers, Ogun, Osun, Imo, Ekiti, Lagos, and Abuja have come under increasing attack, resulting in the theft and destruction of vital components such as power cables, rectifiers, diesel generators, and solar panels.
“These components are not just hardware; they are the backbone of Nigeria’s digital economy and national security. The frequency and spread of these incidents are deeply alarming,” Adebayo said.
Telecoms equipment sold in black market
He revealed that pieces of stolen telecoms equipment are being sold across black markets and informal sectors. Batteries are repurposed for household inverters, solar panels are stripped and resold, while diesel siphoned from base stations is traded on street corners, he decried.
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Adebayo warned that the sector is on the brink of collapse if urgent and coordinated action is not taken. He called on the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), the inspector-general of police, the director-general of the Department of State Security (DSS), and the commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to deploy resources to safeguard telecom infrastructure.
He also appealed to Nigerians to take responsibility.
“If you buy stolen telecoms equipment, you are complicit in destroying the infrastructure that supports our banks, hospitals, schools, security systems, and daily communications. The industry cannot fight this battle alone. We need coordinated action by security agencies, government at all levels, regulators, the media, civil society, and the Nigerian public to safeguard the future of our digital economy,” Adebayo added.
NCC wades in
In response to the mounting public concern, the NCC reaffirmed its commitment to protecting telecoms infrastructure designated as Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) under President Tinubu’s executive order. The commission said it has launched a public awareness campaign and national reporting platform to tackle acts of sabotage and infrastructure theft.
“The destruction of fibre cables, theft of fuel, and removal of vital site components have become far too common. These attacks severely affect service quality for millions,” the NCC stated.
