The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has disclosed that more than 5,000 fiber-optic cable cuts were recorded across Nigeria in the first six months of 2026, with road construction, excavation, and other civil works identified as major causes.
NCC Executive Vice Chairman Dr. Aminu Maida disclosed this on Tuesday at a stakeholders’ workshop on protecting fiber-optic infrastructure during road construction in Abuja.
Maida urged road contractors, engineers, telecommunications operators, and government agencies to improve coordination before and during construction to prevent damage to critical telecom infrastructure.
He warned that fiber cuts could disrupt banking, government services, education, healthcare, commerce, security, and emergency communications.
The NCC chief recalled that fibre cuts in February 2024 caused an almost network-wide disruption for one telecommunications operator, affecting millions of users for several hours and putting additional pressure on other networks.
Maida said the solution was not to blame contractors or telecom operators but to establish a reliable system for early coordination.
He disclosed that the Federal Ministries of Works and Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy had established a Standing Committee on the Protection of Fiber Optic Cables. The committee was later expanded to include the Office of the National Security Adviser because of the security implications of protecting telecom infrastructure.
The government had earlier established a joint committee in February 2025 following persistent fiber damage linked to road construction. At the time, the NCC reported more than 50,000 fiber-cut incidents in 2024, with about 30,000 attributed to federal and state road projects.
Maida said telecommunications infrastructure had been designated as Critical National Information Infrastructure and must therefore be adequately protected.
He called for practical measures to make coordination between construction and telecom stakeholders standard practice, rather than an exception.
“Nigeria must build the roads that connect our communities while protecting the fiber networks that connect our economy,” he said.
