The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is seeking collaboration with the National Judicial Institute with a view to frontally tackling legal challenges in the nation’s telecoms sector.
The Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of the commission, Dr. Aminu Waida, in his welcome address during the opening ceremony of a two-day workshop for judges on legal issues in telecommunications with the theme ‘Adjudicating in the Digital Era: The Judiciary’s Imperative in Connectivity, Infrastructure Protection and Online Safety’ organized by the NCC in Lagos, described the collaboration with the Judiciary as imperative given the incidents of attacks on the assets.
Maida noted that despite the progress recorded in the telecoms sector in the areas of investments and network expansion, including growth in broadband penetration from 47.70 per cent in 2025 to 54.30 per cent in 2026, the sector remained threatened with constant telecoms infrastructure attacks that could rob off the gains, if not urgently addressed.
According to him, the theme of the workshop gives a picture of both the challenges and opportunities present in the telecoms sector, and indeed the impact on the wider digital economy.
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The EVC explained: “The theme of this workshop rightly highlights the Judiciary’s imperative in three critical areas: connectivity, infrastructure protection, and online safety. Telecommunications infrastructure has now been officially designated by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII), which means that assets of the telecommunications sector are to be provided a whole-of-government and whole-of-society protection, given their crucial importance to our daily lives.
“Despite this, we continue to witness disturbing levels of vandalism, fibre cuts, theft of equipment, and sabotage that disrupt services for millions of citizens and compromise national security.
“As judges, you are increasingly being called upon to interpret laws, adjudicate disputes, and set precedents that will determine how these complex issues are resolved.
“Your decisions will influence regulatory certainty for investors and the overall trust in our digital ecosystem“, Maida added.
Earlier in his opening remarks at the forum, the Board Chairman of the NCC, Chief Idris Olorunimbe, said the workshop provided a timely platform for constructive engagement between the Judiciary, regulators, law enforcement institutions, policymakers, and industry operators on the legal and governance challenges arising within the digital ecosystem.
He charged the Judiciary to move at the speed of 5G in order to legally address the increasing rate of reckless destruction and attacks on telecoms infrastructure nationwide.
Speaking at the workshop, the Administrator of the NJI, Justice Babatunde Adejumo, said that the Judiciary had been playing a pivotal role in harmonising the right to freedom of expression with the competing demands of privacy and security.
According to him, executing this delicate duty invariably requires a sophisticated grasp of the telecommunications environment, the precise interpretation of evolving statutes, and a continuous recognition of how intersecting rights influence Nigeria’s digital trajectory.
Similarly, in her keynote speech, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and Chairman of the Board of Governors of the NJI, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, who was represented by Supreme Court Judge, Justice Musa Saulawa, maintained that given the supersonic rate of technological evolution globally, legal systems are increasingly required to frontally address emerging legal issues in order to protect investments in the digital ecosystem.
The CJN said: “As technological innovation continues to evolve at an unprecedented pace, legal systems across the world are increasingly required to confront new questions concerning regulation, accountability, rights protection, and institutional responsibility within the digital space.
“The Judiciary cannot remain detached from these developments. The law must respond to changing realities while preserving the principles that sustain justice and social order”, she added.
Kekere-Ekun explained that experiences from other jurisdictions demonstrated the increasingly crucial role of the Judiciary had been playing in shaping the legal architecture of the digital age, stressing that adding that the pace of technological expansion makes judicial preparedness very important in Nigeria.
