Criminal networks have turned Nigeria’s telecom towers into open-air warehouses for theft, looting 656 critical power assets across 14 states in 2025 alone and keeping up the pace in early 2026.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) data showed the haul included 152 generators and 504 batteries stolen from mobile sites last year.
At the same time, thieves made off with diesel in 1,344 separate incidents and cut fibre cables so often that operators recorded an average of 1,100 fibre cuts every week by late 2025.
The 14 hardest-hit stat
