NCC to Enforce Stricter Sanctions as ICT Sector Faces Regulatory Crackdown

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC ) has raised serious concerns over continued non-compliance by telecom tower companies and ICT service providers, warning of a new enforcement era that prioritises accountability over fines.

Executive Vice Chairman Dr. Aminu Maida announced that the Commission is preparing tougher, non-monetary sanctions to address persistent service quality failures, infrastructure neglect, and widespread disregard for regulatory obligations. These lapses, including outages, equipment breakdowns, and poor maintenance, threaten the reliability of Nigeria’s voice and Internet services—critical pillars of the nation’s digital economy.

Investigations show that several ICT operators treat financial penalties as routine business expenses, often budgeting for them in advance. This practice has rendered monetary fines ineffective. To address this, the NCC is reviewing its 2019 Enforcement Processes Regulations (EPR), proposing a shift from cash penalties to direct regulatory consequences.

A consultation paper released by the Commission outlines five proposals to strengthen enforcement, with a rule-making process scheduled for late Q3 2025. One of the core proposals includes asymmetric sanctions—adjusting penalties based on the operator’s size and capacity, to ensure fairness while driving stronger compliance across the board.

The Commission is also considering non-monetary administrative penalties that could limit licensing rights and access to regulatory benefits for violators, particularly in cases of interconnection debt or licence abuse. Additional measures would target rising infractions like call masking, call refiling, and SIM boxing—extending both administrative and criminal liability to service providers and non-licensees alike.

Other proposals focus on clearly defining breaches and associated fines, while introducing direct accountability for executive boards and management teams that repeatedly flout the Nigerian Communications Act. Revised provisions could result in sanctions affecting a company’s leadership, not just its operations.

By anchoring these changes in the Nigerian Communications Act 2023, the NCC is repositioning its enforcement strategy to reflect the growing complexity of Nigeria’s digital landscape. The Commission has called on stakeholders to submit input before the reform process begins in earnest.

This shift signals a more aggressive regulatory posture, one aimed at protecting service quality, improving compliance, and securing Nigeria’s digital future.