The news:
- The Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has revealed that it's looking into 17 priority data breach cases across various sectors, from finance, technology, and education to government, logistics, and gaming.
- The National Commissioner of the Commission, Vincent Olatunji, disclosed this in Abuja on Sunday, January 28, 2024, at the Global Data Privacy Day.
- Besides, at the event, the NDPC revealed it received more than 1,000 reports of data breaches, consequently warranting the ongoing investigation.
Out of the 1,000 complaints, a thorough review by the commission led to only 50 verified cases, 17 of which are being investigated.
Olatunji also noted that remedial operations for the completed cases have helped the Commission generate ₦400 million in revenue for the Nigerian government.
The NDPC announced seven months ago, in June 2023, that it was looking into three deposit money banks — Zenith, Fidelity, and Guarantee Trust Banks — Babcock University, and other suspects, including Leadway Insurance, for alleged data breaches.
Barely four months later, in October 2023, the Commission also disclosed that it was investigating Opay, Meta, and DHL for alleged data breaches. These investigations reveal that many private and public institutions perform poorly on data protection and privacy compliance.
These investigations reflect Nigeria’s commitment to data protection and privacy, bolstered by a robust legislative framework and strategic initiatives.
Additionally, the National Commissioner disclosed that the nation's count of Data Protection Compliance Organisations has surged from 103 to 163 to foster compliance. As a result, the commission is seeing an increase of up to 2,000 per year in annual audit filings.
The Commission puts the projected revenue from data protection compliance at ₦6.2 billion, citing around 10,100 jobs created so far in the sector.
Olatunji said that Nigeria has joined international organisations, showing that the work in the data protection ecosystem is receiving much-deserved international recognition.
“It is also worthy of note that Nigeria has now been admitted to the Global Privacy Assembly, which is made up of about 130 countries. This is in addition to being an active member of the Network of African Data Protection Authorities (NADPA).”
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While stressing the need for comprehensive data privacy and protection awareness in the country, the Commission promised to release a complete outline of its progress and the next steps.
The Nigeria Annual Data Protection Report, which will be available at the Annual Anniversary and Award Ceremony on Sunday, February 4, 2024, will make this outline public.
https://techpoint.africa/2023/06/15/nigerias-data-protection-bill-2023/
