The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) have issued a warning regarding the potential for damage to fiber-optic cables during road building and related civil works projects around the nation.
In a statement on Sunday, ACC Afolabi Babawale, National Public Relations Officer at the National Headquarters in Abuja, warned that the increasing number of preventable fiber-optic breaks caused by carelessness would no longer be ignored because violators now face legal repercussions.
Fiber-optic cables are vital national resources that propel Nigeria’s digital economy, enable seamless communication, support emergency services, connect enterprises, and ease government processes, according to the NCC and NSCDC.
The organisations claim that telecommunication fibre infrastructure is categorised as Critical National Information Infrastructure under the Designation and Protection of Critical National Information Infrastructure Order 2024.
As a result, any harm brought on by unapproved excavation, building operations, or a refusal to work with the appropriate authorities to prevent damage during construction is illegal.
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They issued a warning that anyone who damages fiber-optics infrastructure—individuals, businesses, or government contractors—will be prosecuted and subject to the appropriate penalties as stipulated by current legislation, such as the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act 2015.
As a result, they issued a categorical warning that there would be severe legal repercussions for any future damage to fiber-optic infrastructure resulting from excavation, road construction, or any other civil engineering activity carried out without proper consultation or cooperation with network operators and pertinent regulators.
They urged the federal, state, and local governments, road construction firms, utility service providers, and private developers to guarantee complete compliance by carrying out pre-construction verification of fibre routes, working with the NCC, telecom operators, and the NSCDC both before and during construction, following authorised guidelines for excavation and right-of-way management, and promptly reporting any unintentional damage to enable prompt response and mitigation.
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