Vandals of telecommunications cables face ten years in prison

In August, the federal government issued the Designation and Protection of Critical National Information Infrastructure Order 2024, which aims to secure the country's telecommunications infrastructure 23 years after the start of the mobile revolution.

Bosun Tijani, Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, said: “I would like to thank President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the publication of the Official Gazette ‘Critical National Information Infrastructure Designation and Protection Regulation 2024’.”

This Gazette now criminalises the intentional damage of assets such as telecommunications towers/sites, switching stations, data centres, satellite infrastructure, submarine and fibre optic cables, transmission equipment, e-government platforms and databases.

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According to the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015: With Amendment Act 2024, the President, on the recommendation of the National Security Advisor, may, among other things, designate certain computer systems or networks as critical national information infrastructure (CNII) if their impairment would have a serious impact on national or economic security, public health and safety.

The law provides that anyone who causes harm to CNII will, if convicted, be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison without a fine. If the crime results in serious bodily harm, the offender can face up to 15 years in prison. If the crime results in death, the penalty can be life imprisonment.

The Gazette, part of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015, recently signed by President Bola Tinubu, is titled “Order for the Designation and Protection of Critical National Information Infrastructures, 2024”.

It states, among other things: “The objectives of this Order are: (a) to designate certain information and communications technology (ICT) systems, networks and infrastructures operating in Nigeria as Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII).”

It was stressed that anyone tampering with a CNII will face penalties as may be provided for under the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015.

According to Tijani, the security and protection of these CNII are a priority and will help improve the quality of telecommunications services, which are often disrupted by intentional damage.

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Destruction of telecommunications infrastructure such as towers, switchgears, data centers, submarine cables, base stations, fiber optic networks, fiber optic cables and ducts is now punishable by a prison sentence of up to 10 years. Nigeria joins countries such as China, India and the United States that consider telecommunications infrastructure critical and severely punish its sabotage.

Speaking at a recent industry event, Carl Cruz, CEO of Airtel Nigeria, said: “One of the biggest challenges facing the telecommunications industry is security. There are over a thousand cases of sabotage and fiber optic theft every month.”

In 2023, frequent fiber optic cable disruptions resulted in at least $23 million in damages and caused widespread internet and service outages with significant impacts on service quality.