The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has raised the alarm over more than 5,000 fibre-optic cable cuts recorded across the country in the first six months of 2026, largely due to road construction, excavation and other civil works.

The NCC urged road construction companies, contractors, engineers and other stakeholders to strengthen coordination and adopt preventive measures to protect fibre-optic infrastructure during construction and rehabilitation projects.

The Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NCC, Dr Aminu Maida, made the call on Tuesday at a stakeholders’ workshop on the protection of fibre-optic cables held at the National Counter-Terrorism Centre (NCTC), Office of the National Security Adviser, in Abuja.

Maida said Nigeria’s drive to expand its physical infrastructure must not undermine the digital infrastructure connecting citizens to information, services, markets and other opportunities.

He described telecommunications infrastructure as a critical national lifeline, noting that it underpins banking, government services, education, healthcare, commerce, security and emergency communications.

According to him, damage to fibre infrastructure can disrupt essential services and impose significant costs on citizens, businesses and the wider economy.

“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.

The NCC chief executive recalled that in February 2024, fibre cuts, including those caused by road construction, resulted in an almost network-wide disruption for one telecommunications operator, affecting millions of users for several hours and putting additional pressure on other networks.

He said the issue was not about assigning blame, stressing that road contractors did not deliberately seek to disconnect communities, just as telecommunications operators did not intend to obstruct construction activities.

Rather, he said there was a need for a dependable system of early coordination among road contractors, telecommunications operators, government agencies and other stakeholders.

Maida disclosed that the Permanent Secretaries of the Federal Ministry of Works and the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy had inaugurated the Standing Committee on the Protection of Fibre Optic Cables to develop practical coordination mechanisms before, during and after road construction works.

He added that the committee’s membership had recently been expanded to include representatives of the Office of the National Security Adviser, in recognition of the security implications of protecting telecommunications infrastructure.

The EVC said telecommunications infrastructure had been designated as Critical National Information Infrastructure, requiring it to be treated as national infrastructure and adequately protected.

He urged operators, contractors, government agencies, regulators and security agencies to play their respective roles in preventing damage to fibre-optic cables.

“Nigeria must build the roads that connect our communities while protecting the fibre networks that connect our economy. We need both forms of infrastructure, and we need them to work together,” he said.

Maida urged participants at the workshop to develop practical measures that would make coordination a standard practice rather than an exception during road construction and other excavation activities.

The workshop is part of ongoing efforts by the NCC and other stakeholders to institutionalise mechanisms for protecting telecommunications infrastructure, minimising service disruptions and supporting Nigeria’s digital transformation agenda.

The workshop is also expected to culminate in a framework for protecting telecommunications fibre-optic infrastructure during road construction and other excavation activities.