ALTON Raises Alarm Over Rising Vandalism of Telecom Infrastructure, Warns of Service Disruptions

The Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) has expressed grave concern over the escalating cases of vandalism and theft targeting telecommunications infrastructure nationwide.

In a statement released by its Publicity Secretary, Sir Damian Udeh, the association highlighted the severe consequences of these acts, including network disruptions, widespread service outages, and degraded connectivity for millions of subscribers.

ALTON clarified that the affected infrastructure belongs not only to its members but also to other mobile network operators (MNOs) and dependent service providers. Critical equipment such as power cables, rectifiers, fiber optic cables, diesel generators, batteries, and solar systems are frequently vandalized or stolen from active sites, leading to prolonged downtimes and service degradation.

The association identified Delta, Rivers, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Ogun, Ondo, Edo, Lagos, Kogi, FCT, Kaduna, Niger, Osun, and Kwara as states with the highest frequency of attacks, with Abuja recording the most incidents.

ALTON reminded the public that telecom infrastructure is classified as Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) under Nigerian law, and vandalism remains a serious criminal offense with severe penalties.

The association urged the government, security agencies, and the public to take urgent action to safeguard these assets, emphasizing the threats posed to the digital economy, national security, and overall development. ALTON reassured subscribers of its commitment to improving service quality while calling for collective efforts to prevent further damage to the telecom sector.

About The Author

Dele Fashomi

Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.

Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.

He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.

Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).

He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.

He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.

Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled:  Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.

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