Nigeria Processed N1.053 Quadrillion in Q1 2026 as Fibre Cuts Hit 65 a Day

Nigeria processed N1.053 quadrillion in electronic payments in the first quarter of 2026, the highest single-quarter total in the Central Bank of Nigeria's payment data series since tracking began in 2019. The figure, published in the CBN's Q1 2026 Quarterly Statistical Bulletin, is 2.85 per cent higher than the N1.024 quadrillion recorded in the same period of 2025.

At almost the same moment, the Nigerian Communications Commission disclosed that 5,934 fibre-optic cables were cut across the country in the first six months of 2026, an average of 65 incidents every day. The two datasets describe a digital economy growing fast on top of infrastructure that is being severed repeatedly, often by the road-building programmes meant to modernise the country.

What the payment channels show

The CBN data covers six channels: mobile pay, ATMs, instant payments, Point of Sale terminals, web transactions and cheques.

Mobile Pay led the growth. Transaction volume rose 28.60 per cent year-on-year to 2.67 billion, while value climbed 7.73 per cent to N112.12 trillion.

ATM usage also grew. Volume was up 6.60 per cent to 438.59 million, but value surged 64.62 per cent to N26.30 trillion, a sign that Nigerians are withdrawing larger amounts per visit even as digital channels expand.

The Nigeria Instant Payment system posted a split result. Volume fell 17.70 per cent to 1.82 billion transactions, yet value climbed 12.55 per cent to N320.76 trillion. Fewer, larger sums are settling through the instant rails.

Point of Sale contracted sharply. Volume fell 19.90 per cent to 2.92 billion from 3.64 billion a year earlier, while value dropped 16.42 per cent to N59.33 trillion from N70.98 trillion. That is roughly 724 million fewer transactions and about N11.65 trillion less value processed through the channel in one quarter.

Fibre cuts map onto the money

A TechEconomy analysis of NCC network monitoring data shows Abuja, Lagos, Rivers, Kano and Kaduna recorded the highest number of disruptions in the first quarter. Those are the same cities that carry the largest share of Nigeria's enterprise connectivity, banking infrastructure and fintech transaction volumes. Every major fibre cut in those corridors affects ATMs, Point of Sale terminals, fintech applications, logistics platforms, hospitals and enterprise communications.

Effiom Ewa, Director of Critical National Security and Infrastructure Protection at the Office of the National Security Adviser, drew the sharpest line between cable damage and national consequence at the NCC's August 12 stakeholders' workshop in Abuja.

"Every fibre-optic cable damage is more than a disruption to a network, or simply a cable cut," Ewa said. "It is indeed a disruption to governance, economic productivity, public services, and the daily lives of Nigerians."

He noted that fibre-optic infrastructure carries a formal designation as Critical National Information Infrastructure under Nigerian law, and that damage through negligence or interference could constitute a criminal offence, though enforcement has remained inconsistent.

Olarinre Adeladan, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Works, acknowledged at the same workshop that road construction and telecommunications infrastructure routinely occupy the same physical space, a collision that produces most recorded incidents. "Appropriate mapping and coordination with telecoms operators before any excavation will help prevent damage to underground cables," she said, adding that the ministry would work with the NCC on joint protocols for all federally funded road projects.

Repair bill and enforcement push

Nadungu Gagare, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, said the Standing Committee on the Protection of Fibre Optic Cables, inaugurated jointly by the two ministries, had expanded to include the Office of the National Security Adviser. "The committee is not just a consultative body," Gagare said. "It has a mandate to produce enforceable coordination frameworks within a defined timeline."

NCC data shows 1,883 of the 5,934 cuts in the first half occurred in the first quarter alone, meaning the incident rate accelerated between April and June. NCC Executive Vice Chairman Aminu Maida, who presented the figures, recalled that fibre cuts in February 2024, including those caused by road construction, contributed to a near network-wide disruption for one operator, affecting millions of users for several hours.

"To a machine operator on a construction site, it may appear to be one buried cable," Maida said. "To the nation, it can mean failed calls, stalled payments, interrupted services and missed opportunities."

Gbenga Adebayo, Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria, said the industry absorbed N2.2 billion in direct repair costs from fibre cuts in the first half of 2026 alone, excluding lost revenue during outages and capital diverted from network expansion to reactive maintenance. He called for a legal requirement that road contractors obtain a clearance certificate from the NCC before any excavation in areas with mapped underground telecoms infrastructure.

The NCC is pursuing two parallel tracks, one technical and one regulatory, in response.

For Nigerian businesses and consumers, the gap matters. Payment volumes keep climbing, but each severed cable in Lagos, Abuja or Port Harcourt is a payment that fails, a terminal that goes dark, and a cost the operators eventually pass on.