The Federal Government has called for details of all strategy communications infrastructures from the communication firms operating in the country.
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ibrahim Pantami made the call on Monday.
Pantami said the essence is to secure the critical national infrastructure from attacks.
The information, he therefore said should be forwarded to his office and that of the Office, the National Security Adviser (ONSA) to the President.
The telecom firms and the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC are attach the unique identity to the infrastructures to enable government deploy security forces for their protection.
He spoke at a Stakeholders Consultative Forum on the Implementation of the National Broadband Policy 2020-2025, at the Digital Economy Complex, Mbora, Abuja on Monday.
The directive may not be unconnected with the recent attacks on fibre infrastructures in the northeast by some yet to be identified aggrieved labourers in Borno.
In the said attacks, fibre infrastructures of MTN and Airtel and other cariers were cut off by irate labourers who were engaged by some persons working on telecom infrastructures, but were denied their pay.
Consequently, Maiduguri, the Borno state capital as well as Damaturu, the Yobe state capital and other cities and towns in the northeast have been cut off from communications.
The Minister argued that it was important for telecom operators as well as the NCC to produce a database for all telecom facilities across the country with unique identity attach to them to enable government fashion security protection for them.
While saying that the request was not new, he however wondered why the stakeholders were yet to respond up till now, saying “we all want results, but the little we have to do to achieve such results nobody is taking it serious”.
The Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta who spoke earlier expressed the concern over the attacks on strategy infrastructure, saying that the development constitute a breach to national security.
Speaking in response to concerns raised by the Chief Operating Officer of MTN, Mr Mazen Mrouf and Airtel’s Vice President (Networks) Dr Adedoyin Adeola, said the intervention of the NSA was imperative.
Prof Danbatta said :” Yes, we are aware of the cut of fibre infrastructures in the northeast last Friday. We took up the matter immediately. But reports reaching me right now indicates that some labourers are responsible. And that they have cut it again as of today”
Prof Danbatta said the intervention of the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) as well as the government of Borno state has become imperative to address the challenge.
He explained that the matter would be addressed just as the NCC engaged the Nigeria Customs Service in dialogue when it ordered the stoppage of supplies of diesel to base stations in border towns/areas of the country.
