CNII Order fails: 160 daily fibre cuts cost Nigeria ₦2.2bn in repairs

President Tinubu's June 2024 CNII Order designated telecom assets as vital national security installations, but fibre cuts have surged from 17 daily in 2023 to over 160 daily in the first nine months of 2026—44,000+ total cuts. MTN alone recorded 5,478 cuts January-July 2025 (26/day), up from 6,000 all of 2023. The industry logged 19,384 cuts January-August 2025.

The financial drain is severe: operators spent ₦2.2 billion ($1.64 million) repairing 5,934 cuts in H1 2026. MTN spent ₦11.1 billion ($8.26 million) relocating 2,502km of fibre across 2022-2023—funds GSMA says could have built 870km of new fibre in underserved areas. Industry losses hit ₦27 billion ($20.08 million) in 2023. With telecoms contributing 9.72% (₦5.20 trillion) to real GDP and NIBSS processing ₦1.053 quadrillion in Q1 2026, every cut drags national output.

Enforcement remains the gap. The NSCDC's 63,000 personnel across 774 LGAs cannot provide static protection for thousands of kilometres of buried fibre. NCC's Aminu Maida admitted in August 2026: "What has too often been missing is a dependable system of early coordination." Uncoordinated road construction and vandalism drive most cuts.

As subscribers absorb up to 50% tariff hikes and 5G expansion requires robust fibre backhaul, will the government match legislation with enforcement capacity—or will Nigerians keep paying for an unprotected digital backbone?

SOURCE: https://techcabal.com/2026/11/04/fibre-cuts-and-nigerias-digital-economy/