Having assented to the Nigeria Data Protection Act on the 12th of June 2023, President Bola Tinubu has been lauded for renewing the hope of over 200 million Nigerians in the advancement of Privacy rights and other fundamental freedoms both in cyberspace and in analogue transactions.
The Head, Legal Enforcement and Regulations, Nigeria Data Protection Bureau (NDPB), Babatunde Bamigboye, stated this in a Statement issued on Wednesday, June 14, 2023, describing the move as a giant leap forward in the global data race.
According to the Statement, the National Commissioner, Nigeria Data Protection Commission, Dr. Vincent Olatunji, held out hope that with the emerging regulatory dispensation, the nation’s Digital Economy is on the right track.
The Nigeria Data Protection Bureau, pursuant to the express provisions of the new act, has transmuted into a full fledged Commission and it is mandated to among others:
(a) regulate the deployment of technological and organisational measures to enhance personal data protection;
(b) foster the development of personal data protection technologies, in accordance with recognised international best practices and applicable international law; conduct investigations into any violation of a requirement under the Act;
(C) impose penalties in respect of any violation of the provisions of the Act or subsidiary legislation made thereof;
(d) where necessary, accredit, license, and register suitable persons to provide data protection compliance services;
(e) issue regulations, rules, directives and guidance under the Act; and
(f) register data controllers and data processors of major importance.
The Act is one of the strategic ways of meeting the campaign promise of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR of creating 1Million jobs in the Digital Economy sector.
About 500, 000 jobs are expected to be created through the training of Data Protection Officers and licensing of Data Protection Compliance Organizations to offer services to data controllers and processors.
