CNII: ATCON hints ‘weak penalties’ fuelling attacks on telecoms infrastructure

*The Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria warns the weak penalties under the Critical National Information Infrastructure policy are undermining efforts to protect telecoms assets across the West African country

Gbenga Kayode | ConsumerConnect

The Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) has advocated urgent legal reforms to strengthen enforcement of the country’s Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) regulatory frameworks.

ATCON Thursday, May 7, 2026, again, cautioned that weak penalties against offenders under the CNII policy are undermining efforts at protecting telecoms assets in the ecosystem.

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ConsumerConnect reports President Bola Ahmed Tinubu June 2024, signed the “Designation and Protection of Critical National Information Infrastructure Order 2024”, an Executive Order (EO), classifying telecoms assets as part of the country’s Critical National Information Infrastructure.

The Executive Order provides the West African country’s main legal framework for protecting certain critical information and communication technology infrastructure against vandalism, sabotage, damage and theft.

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

Likewise, the Executive Order particularly tasked the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) among others, on implementing the CNII policy across the entire digital space.

ATCON to Government: Reform CNII policy now

Speaking on what the designated authorities should do urgently to address the identified lapse in policy enforcement, Mr. Tony Emoekpere, President of ATCON, in an interview in Lagos, reportedly urged urgent legal reforms to strengthen enforcement of the CNII policy in the Nigerian digital space.

Emoekpere though acknowledged that offenders are being arrested and prosecuted, he insisted that the current CNII framework appears to be failing to serve as a deterrent to such economic saboteurs.

He also declared: “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 Chief affirmed that the telecoms body is actively supporting the implementation of the CNII policy in collaboration with security agencies.

According to him, telecoms infrastructure remain critical to national security and economic growth.

It is noted the telecoms sector of the Nigerian economy has consistently identified infrastructure vandalism as a major challenge affecting service delivery and operational costs over the years.

Industry stakeholders  also said the CNII Order was evoked to strengthen the protection of telecoms assets, and improve quality of service for consumers, following years of rising attacks on infrastructure across Nigeria.

On ATCON’s support for Project BRIDGE

As regards the Federal Government’s digital programmes and initiatives, Emoekpere reaffirmed ATCON’s support for the government’s ‘Project BRIDGE’.

The digital project, administered by the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy (FMCIDE), was designed to expand Internet connectivity across the country.

The Association, however, noted that the age-long Right-of-Way (RoW) approvals across states still remain 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.

Network service quality and consumer experience

Emoekpere touched on telecoms service quality, and said Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) are struggling to keep pace with rising subscriber numbers and increasing data demand, despite recent tariff adjustments few years back.

The President of ATCON stated: “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 equally noted that subscriber migration between networks and shifting usage patterns are placing additional pressure on certain operators, contributing to service fluctuations.

Emoekpere, therefore, assured telecoms consumers that there are ongoing efforts at improving network performance in the ecosystem.

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

Key stats on fibre optic cuts in telecoms space

It was gathered that data from network operators indicated that fibre-optic cable cuts remain one of the biggest threats to telecom operations in the West African country.

According to report, despite the Federal Government’s CNII Order, Nigeria yet recorded 1,883 fibre cuts in the First Quarter (Q1) 2026, while between January and August 2025, about 19,384 incidents were reported nationwide, averaging over 2,400 monthly cases.

The data also showed that 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.

Other firms of damage to MNOs’ assets include alleged widespread theft of power generators, batteries, and other vital equipment used to keep telecoms sites operational.

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

Industry reports further indicated that 577 network outages recorded Q1 2026 were directly linked to vandalism of telecoms infrastructure in the country.

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