MTN Nigeria’s strategic return to profitability in 2025 has been marred by a massive wave of infrastructure damage, with the telecom giant recording a record 9,218 fibre cuts in just one year.
Despite posting a ₦750 billion profit, the company warns that rampant vandalism and equipment theft are now the primary threats to network stability for its 90 million users.
In the 2025 performance review, MTN Nigeria Chief Executive Officer, Karl Toriola disclosed these disruptions, primarily caused by aggressive road construction and deliberate vandalism, hit service quality hard. Over 211 sites were impacted by theft and sabotage by November alone.
According to the latest industry briefings, MTN Nigeria now records an average of 145 fibre cuts per day. When compared to the historical baseline from 2018/2019—where the company averaged approximately 8 to 9 cuts per day—this represents a roughly 1,600% increase in the frequency of disruptions.
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In a direct message to customers via LinkedIn, Toriola acknowledged the impact of these infrastructure challenges on user experience, noting that they are reflected in customer feedback.
He reaffirmed the company’s commitment to improvement, stating that MTN resolved a record 1,624,263 customer complaints through various channels, including social media and walk-in centers, during the year.
To combat these challenges, the telco is investing ₦1 trillion in capital expenditure (Capex) on network upgrades and expansion. This investment aims to improve service quality, expand 4G and 5G capacity, and enhance overall coverage.
“We are investing about ₦1 trillion in capital expenditure to improve the quality of service. We have already completed the majority of our radio network rollouts,” Toriola stated during a recent media briefing.
Supporting this, MTN Nigeria’s Chief Technical Officer (CTO), Yahaya Ibrahim also revealing that N17.6 billion was spent to repair cuts in 2024, while N26.3 billion was budgeted for maintenance and relocation of cables once the need arises. He noted sabotage and road construction accounted for 69 per cent of total fibre cuts across the country.
As MTN enters its 25th year of operation in Nigeria, this crisis is industry-wide. The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) recently stated that between January and August 2025, the telecom sector recorded 19,384 fibre cuts, 3,241 equipment thefts, and over 19,000 site access denials.
