The federal government has released the official gazette tagged: 'Designation and Protection of Critical National Information Infrastructure Order, 2024', which seeks to protect Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) in the telecoms sector.

The Bill for CNII, which has been advocated by the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) for several years, had been deliberated upon at the floor of the National Assembly and forwarded to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to sign it into law.

The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, who announced the release of the official gazette on his official X handle, said: "I would like to appreciate President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the release of the official gazette, 'Designation and Protection of Critical National Information Infrastructure Order, 2024'.

"This is a significant step that will strengthen and protect investments in the ICT sector by reducing incidences capable of damaging the operations and functionality of our technological systems, infrastructure and networks.

The security and protection of these Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) is a priority for this administration and will help improve the quality of telecoms services which has very often been affected by disruption and intentional damage.

"This gazette now makes it an offence to wilfully damage assets such as telecommunications towers/sites, switch stations, data centres, satellite infrastructure, submarine and fibre optic cables, transmission equipment, e-government platforms, databases among many others."

According to him, government will continue to work to create the enabling and supportive environment and policies for our digital economy to thrive.