Fresh concerns are mounting ahead of the 2027 general elections as rising incidents of vandalism targeting telecommunications infrastructure threaten network stability across parts of the country.

Industry stakeholders warned that persistent attacks on critical assets such as base stations, fibre optic cables, and power systems could disrupt communication services.

The development follows a wave of theft and looting of telecom infrastructure across at least 14 states, which has raised apprehension over the security of critical national assets barely nine months to the 2027 general elections.

The Independent National Electoral Commission relies heavily on stable network services for coordination and result transmission.

During elections, telecom networks are used for the real-time transmission of results from polling units through electronic systems such as the INEC Result Viewing Portal, as well as for communication between field officials, security agencies, and collation centres across the country.

The Infrastructure also supports voter accreditation processes, digital reporting, and dissemination of election updates to the public.

However, data from the Nigerian Communications Commission showed that criminal elements have increasingly targeted telecom sites in 14 states and carted away no fewer than 656 critical power assets in 2025 alone, including 152 generators and 504 batteries, with the trend persisting into early 2026.

The situation has been worsened by rampant diesel theft recorded in 1,344 incidents, alongside frequent fibre cuts, which averaged about 1,100 cases weekly by late 2025, significantly disrupting network operations nationwide.

The hardest-hit areas include Delta, Rivers, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Ogun, Ondo, Edo, Lagos, Kogi, the Federal Capital Territory, Kaduna, Niger, Osun and Kwara states, where armed groups and looters routinely target telecom sites, stealing equipment such as power cables, rectifiers, feeder cables, solar panels and diesel.

Findings further showed that between January and February 2026, an additional 64 batteries and 17 generators were stolen, while cable theft rose sharply to 160 cases in January from 74 recorded in the same period of 2025, and 151 cases in February from 73 a year earlier. Diesel theft also accounted for 222 incidents within the two-month period.

Disruption will affect election – Telcos president

The President of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria, Tony Emoekpere, said the scale of the attacks had pushed the crisis beyond routine operational challenges.

According to him, the loss of generators, batteries and other critical assets is translating directly into service disruptions.

“Being direct, this issue has moved from being operational to being existential for the industry. We are spending more to protect infrastructure than we should, and that is not sustainable.

“When sites go down, you immediately see increased call drops, poorer voice quality, and slower or completely unavailable data services,” he said.

He added that while urban areas might reroute traffic, rural locations often experience total outages.

A telecom expert and Founder of Metaheuristic, Toye Apampa, told Sunday PUNCH that the current scale of attacks could undermine systems that underpin not only elections but also broader digital services.

He said the scale and trajectory of the damage suggested a widening gap between policy and enforcement.

“You cannot sustain the scale of diesel theft and weekly fibre cuts the NCC is reporting against that baseline and expect the national systems resting on it to function.

“The UNDP Digital Development Compass already scores Nigeria’s connectivity at 2.27 out of 5.99 and physical infrastructure at 2.15, which the Compass calls the Systematic stage, meaning the foundations exist but remain fragile,” he said.

It’s deliberate sabotage – CSOs, opposition parties

Speaking in an interview with one of our correspondents, the Chancellor of the International Society for Social Justice and Human Rights, Omenazu Jackson, alleged that the spate of vandalism could be a deliberate attempt to undermine the electoral process.

“These things are deliberate sabotage by the ruling party. They have already cornered the 14 states so that elections would be done manually in those states. These actions are being taken as if Nigerians are fools. Let it be known that we are aware of what is going on. We are not children.

“The government should go back and fix those things before the election. If they don’t fix those 14 states, the election should not hold. The truth remains that there are actions being taken to undermine the will of the Nigerian people.

“The next election is between the extremely poor and the extremely rich, and the latter, being in the minority, know that the masses have risen to defend their mandate. The only way the elite can have their way is to subvert the system,” he said.

The Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, Auwal Rafsanjani,

Stressed that the responsibility for preventing vandalism and guaranteeing the success of electoral processes lay squarely with the government.

“If the government is determined to ensure that e-transmission does not work, it will not work because it will create conditions for it not to work. But if the government is determined to ensure that Nigerians have free, fair, and credible elections, it will happen,” he said.

Rafsanjani stated that the presence of multiple security agencies, including the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, the police, and the Department of State Services, as well as community structures, should be actively engaged in protecting public assets from destruction.

He maintained that the success or failure of the 2027 elections would depend on the government’s resolve, noting that deliberate actions or inaction could undermine the process.

The executive director warned against any narrative that normalises vandalism, suggesting it could indicate complicity or negligence.

“The government must ensure that nothing undermines the 2027 elections, including the vandalisation of public assets or property. Anybody involved in destroying public property should be arrested and prosecuted so that it serves as a lesson,” Musa said.

Similarly, the Executive Director of the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, Debo Adeniran, highlighted the broader economic and social consequences of vandalism, warning that it could disrupt telecommunications, businesses, and public safety.

Adeniran noted that the debate over the electronic transmission of election results predates the issue of vandalism, but warned that the continued destruction of infrastructure could worsen existing challenges.

“When you talk about the e-transmission of election results, it has been in contention for some time, even without vandalism. The electoral law did not assure us of real-time transmission of electoral results. But vandalism can only compound the issues,” he stated.

He criticised what he described as inadequate government responses to security concerns, insisting that governance must prioritise citizens’ welfare and safety.

Adeniran called for contingency planning to ensure that elections can proceed under any circumstances, suggesting multiple alternatives to electronic transmission.

“If that happens and it affects our election, it means the government should admit its failure. There should be a Plan B, as we have suggested before, even during the debate over whether the electoral law provides for real-time transmission. There should be Plan A, Plan B, Plan C, and even Plan D, so that if one fails, another will work,” he said.

He pointed to the potential use of satellite technology and manual systems as viable backup options.

Adeniran emphasised the need for transparency, accountability, and resilience in the electoral system.

“They should develop other means of ensuring that the forthcoming election is transparent, reliable, and accountable at every stage. No matter what happens, the government must find a way to secure lives and property, including the business environment. Business owners should not be afraid to operate because of criminal activities that may drive them out of business,” Adeniran said.

He concluded by reiterating the importance of backup systems for election result transmission.

Adeniran explained, “Basically, if vandalism continues, it has the potential to affect e-transmission. There should be a way of securing manual transmission. That is why we have suggested that anything could happen on election day, and we should not rely solely on the internet. There must be alternative means of transmitting election results with foolproof security that cannot be breached.

“Before the advent of the internet, we conducted elections that were largely free and peaceful with minimal disruption. We can still use that as Plan B. Plan A should be regular e-transmission. Plan B should be the use of satellite devices.

“Plan C should be manual transmission with heavy security escort to ensure that results are not tampered with on the way to the collation centres. Then there can be Plan D or any other workable option. That is our suggestion.”

It’s worrisome – Opposition

Speaking on the issue, the National Publicity Secretary of a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party, Ini Ememobong, warned that the vandalisation of telecommunications facilities should not be viewed merely as an attack on infrastructure, but as a serious threat to democracy, national security, and the country’s ongoing fight against terrorism.

He stated, “It should be viewed not just as a threat to the election, but as a threat to democracy and national security.”

Also, the National Publicity Secretary of the African Democratic Congress, Bolaji Abdullahi, criticised the Federal Government over the issue.

He stated, “What is clear is that the Electoral Act position will not materially change as a result of any assessment of telecoms installations. The concern remains the same: without automatic transmission of election results, electoral processes can be manipulated. Whether or not those vandalising telecom installations are attempting to justify this situation is, in my view, not significant.

“However, some issues go beyond politics. It is essential to understand that without adequate telecom infrastructure in critical parts of the country, the ability of security agencies to coordinate effectively would be severely limited. Not everything should be politicised.”

Speaking further, he said, “When telecom infrastructure is vandalised and perpetrators are not held accountable, it reflects an inability by the government to adequately protect critical national assets. Ultimately, if infrastructure and citizens cannot be protected, it raises serious concerns about governance effectiveness.”

On his part, the Interim National Chairman of the Labour Party, Senator Nenadi Usman, in an interview with Sunday PUNCH, said while the destruction of telecom assets is troubling, it should not be politicised.

Speaking through Ken Asogwa, her Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Usman said, “I don’t want to dwell on a conspiracy theory. What needs to be sorted out is that the vandalisation of telecom assets is something that the security agencies should redouble efforts to attain. They should go after the vandals.”

She added that attributing the attacks to political motives tied to the 2027 polls was unhelpful.

She said, “But the issue of linking it to the 2027 election is something that is not within the purview of the Labour Party. I’m still wondering what people stand to benefit from that because of the coming election. To me, it doesn’t favour both the opposition parties and the ruling party.”

Echoing similar sentiments, the National Publicity Secretary of the Social Democratic Party said the wave of vandalism must be seen within the broader context of Nigeria’s deepening insecurity, rather than as an isolated threat to electoral processes.

“Our insecurity is getting alarming and cutting across all sectors of our national life. We have displacement, food insecurity and others. All of these are attendant consequences of the general insecurity,” Usman added.

She noted that critical infrastructure across multiple sectors had come under sustained attack, citing incidents beyond telecommunications.

“So, it has extended to our infrastructural assets and all of that. It is not only happening to the telecom sector. It has been happening In the oil sector and other infrastructure. There was a time In Lagos that the officials of the Federal Ministry of Works were alarmed and raised concerns about the vandalisation of the Third Mainland Bridge by hoodlums.

“But it also calls to question the capacity of government to really protect lives and property. I’m always quick to point to the primary duty of government as enshrined in our constitution.

“Chapter 2, Section 14, talks about the protection of lives and property as the primary duty of government. So, the government needs to do more. We are in a terrible state as a nation.”

He added that existing security deployments may be insufficient.

“You have seen the civil defence corps being deployed mostly to do all of these things. But I don’t think they have much capacity. We need to show more capacity to protect our security architecture, national infrastructure, assets, telecommunications, petroleum, electricity, and all of that.”

We will address it– INEC

When contacted, the Director of Voter Education and Publicity at the Independent National Electoral Commission, Victoria Eta-Messi, said the commission was aware of the concerns and would address them.

“The commission will address the issue, identify what the challenges are, and make them known,” she said. (Sunday PUNCH)

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