‘Why telecom infrastructure’s now critical to Nigeria’s national security’

Experts in the telecommunications sector have identified telecommunications infrastructure as a critical component of Nigeria’s national security architecture, with fibre-optic cables, base stations, data centres and other network facilities supporting security operations, emergency response, banking, government services and economic activities.

They made this known against the backdrop of the continued destruction of telecommunications infrastructure through fibre cuts, vandalism, road construction and other activities.

The Office of the National Security Adviser, ONSA, has linked the protection of telecommunications infrastructure directly to national security and economic stability.

Speaking at a stakeholders’ workshop on the protection of fibre-optic cables during road construction in Abuja, the Director of Critical National Security and Infrastructure Protection at ONSA, Effiom Ewa, said damage to fibre infrastructure affects more than telecommunications services.