Tech Policy
In the wake of global developments in data protection compelled by the internet information explosion and jump-started by the promulgation of the GDPR, Nigeria also embarked on her response project, with the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR), released by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) on the 25th of January 2019, setting the course for a new dispensation for privacy in Nigeria.
The NDPR which regulates the processing of personal data belonging to Nigerian citizens and residents in Nigeria solidified a much-needed data protection framework for Africa’s biggest economy. The Regulation effectively standardised what has hitherto been a largely inchoate framework on data protection constituted by: (a) section 37 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which guarantees a right to privacy; (b) the NITDA Guidelines on Data Protection of 2013; (c) sparing provisions in the Child Rights Act of 2003; (d) data use exceptions contained in the Freedom of Information Act, 2011; and (e) privacy-related provisions in the Cybercrimes Act, 2011 and the Consumer Code of Practice Regulations, 2007.
This thinking chronicles Nigeria's journey in data protection over the past three (3) years; it addresses the highpoints, the lowpoints, the controversies and prospects for growth, and what the future might look like for data protection in Nigeria.
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Vincent Okonkwo | Lead Research Analyst, Tech and Innovation Policy | v.o@borg.re