Govt, IHS Towers partner to safeguard telecom infrastructure

IHS Nigeria, a subsidiary of IHS Holding Limited, one of the world’s largest independent owners, operators, and developers of shared communications infrastructure by tower count, has announced a strategic partnership with the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps to enhance the protection of critical telecommunications infrastructure across Nigeria.

The two entities recently signed a memorandum of understanding to formalise their collaboration, aiming to address the persistent challenges of theft, sabotage, and vandalism affecting tower sites, fibre optic cables, and other telecommunications assets.

With IHS Nigeria operating over 16,000 towers and managing more than 15,000 kilometres of fibre optic cables, this partnership underscores a shared commitment to safeguarding infrastructure vital to Nigeria’s growing digital economy.

Under the terms of the MoU, IHS Nigeria and the NSCDC will work together to develop and implement robust strategies to protect telecommunications assets, which are recognised as critical national infrastructure under Nigerian law.

The NSCDC will provide support through enhanced site surveillance, rapid emergency response, and efficient incident reporting. Additionally, the agency will assist in matters related to tower decommissioning and take decisive action to investigate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals involved in site violations

The CEO of IHS Nigeria, Mohamad Darwish, said in a statement, “At IHS we are key enablers of connectivity, and this partnership with the NSCDC is for us an important step towards enhancing the resilience, reliability and availability of telecommunications connectivity in Nigeria.

“By working closely with the NSCDC, which enforces the law that designates telecommunication towers as critical national information infrastructure, we aim to create a safer and more secure environment for our operations, including our infrastructure, and more importantly, ensure better quality of service for all users in Nigeria.”

Commandant General, NSCDC, Ahmad Abubakar, said, “The Corp has a mandate to safeguard critical national infrastructure, and IHS Nigeria’s extensive telecommunications assets and network fall squarely within this mandate. We consider IHS to be a strategic partner whose infrastructure is essential to the operations of many organisations across the country.

“We aim to provide a heightened level of operational excellence and support, focused on securing telecommunications infrastructure more effectively than ever before. Our doors remain open for collaboration, and we look forward to working even more closely with IHS Nigeria.”