The Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria on Thursday warned that weak penalties under Nigeria’s Critical National Information Infrastructure policy are undermining efforts to protect telecoms assets.

The ATCON president, Tony Emoekpere, said this in an interview in Lagos while calling for urgent legal reforms to strengthen enforcement.

Mr Emoekpere said that although offenders are being apprehended and prosecuted, the current framework was failing to serve as a deterrent.

Nigeria’s Designation and Protection of Critical National Information Infrastructure Order 2024, signed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, provides the country’s main legal framework for safeguarding critical information and communication technology infrastructure against vandalism, sabotage and theft.

The order, anchored on the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act 2015 classifies assets such as telecom towers, fibre-optic cables and data centres as critical national infrastructure requiring enhanced protection.

“People are being caught, but the offences are still treated as petty crimes. That limits the impact. CNII needs stronger legal backing, such as an act or executive order to give it more teeth,” the ATCON president said.

He said that the group was actively supporting the implementation of the CNII policy in collaboration with security agencies, stressing that telecom infrastructure remained critical to national security and economic growth.

The ATCON president also reaffirmed support for the federal government’s ‘Project Bridge’ aimed at expanding connectivity across the country, but identified right-of-way approvals across states as a major bottleneck.

According to him, because telcos have to engage multiple states, it is slowing things down, but efforts are ongoing to address it.

On service quality, he said operators are struggling to keep pace with rising subscriber numbers and increasing data demand, despite recent tariff adjustments.

“The challenge is not that nothing is being done—investments are ongoing. But demand is growing even faster, and operators are constantly trying to catch up,” he said.

Mr Emoekpere added that subscriber migration between networks and shifting usage patterns are placing additional pressure on certain operators, contributing to service fluctuations. He, however, assured customers that efforts are ongoing to improve network performance.

“We value our subscribers, and everything is being done not just to maintain, but to improve service delivery,” he said.

The telecommunications sector has consistently identified infrastructure vandalism as a major challenge affecting service delivery and operational costs.

Industry stakeholders say the CNII order is expected to strengthen the protection of telecom assets and improve quality of service for consumers, following years of rising attacks on infrastructure across the country.

Data from operators show that fibre-optic cable cuts remain one of the biggest threats to telecom operations.

However, despite the order, Nigeria recorded 1,883 fibre cuts in the first quarter of 2026, while between January and August 2025, about 19,384 incidents were reported nationwide, averaging more than 2,400 monthly cases.

MTN Nigeria alone reported 9,218 fibre cuts in 2025, up from 9,000 in 2024 and 6,000 in 2023, highlighting the growing scale of the problem.

The sector has also faced widespread theft of generators, batteries and other power assets used to keep telecoms sites operational.

In 2025, criminals reportedly stole 656 critical power assets, including 152 generators and 504 batteries, while telecom operators nationwide lost an estimated ₦27 billion over a 12-month period due to infrastructure damage.

Industry reports further indicated that 577 network outages recorded in the first quarter of 2026 were directly linked to vandalism of telecoms infrastructure. 

(NAN)