The Nigerian Communications Commission has disclosed that more than 5,000 incidents of fibre-optic cable cuts were recorded across the country in the first six months of 2026, largely linked to road construction, excavation and related civil works.
The Executive Vice-Chairman of the NCC, Dr Aminu Maida, disclosed this on Tuesday at a stakeholders’ workshop on the protection of fibre-optic cables during road construction and rehabilitation activities.
Maida said the recurring damage to fibre infrastructure was capable of disrupting essential digital services and imposing costs on telecommunications operators, businesses and citizens.
“The scale is significant. In the first six months of this year alone, over 5,000 fibre-cut incidents were recorded from road construction, excavation and related civil works,” he said.
According to him, many of the incidents occurred because of inadequate coordination among stakeholders before construction activities commenced.
