President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has signed the Nigeria Data Protection Bill, thereby legalizing data protection at all levels of governance in the country
The Head, Legal Enforcement and Regulations in Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), Mr. Babatunde Bamigboye, who gave this hint in a statement on Wednesday, disclosed that the President assented to the Bill on Monday, June 12th, 2023.
According to him, with the enactment of the data protection bill, Nigeria has joined other frontline nations committed to data protection in their domains for the benefit of the increasingly changing global digital space.
He stated: “The Nigeria Data Protection Bureau, pursuant to the express provisions of the new act, has transmitted into a full-fledged Commission and it is mandated to among others: “regulate the deployment of technological and organizational measures to enhance personal data protection; foster the development of personal data protection technologies, in accordance with recognised international best practices and applicable international law; and conduct investigations into any violation of a requirement under the Act.”
He listed other mandates of the NDPB as contained in the provisions of the new Act as including to “impose penalties in respect of any violation of the provisions of the Act or subsidiary legislation made thereof; where necessary, accredit, license, and register suitable persons to provide data protection compliance services; issue regulations, rules, directives and guidance under the Act; and register data controllers and data processors of major importance.
Noting that the enactment of the bill is one of the initiatives to fulfill the campaign promise of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, of creating one million jobs in the digital economy sector, Bamigboye said that about 500, 000 jobs were 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 in the country.
