By 
By Osasómé C.O
Olumide Babalola, Esq., a prominent digital rights, privacy, and data protection lawyer in Nigeria, has filed a lawsuit against the Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy for failing to fund the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC). The suit also names the National Assembly, Attorney General of the Federation, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), and the NDPC as joint respondents.
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The lawsuit, filed this week at the Federal High Court in Lafia, Nasarawa State, focuses on the enforcement of Babalola’s fundamental right to privacy, as guaranteed by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999. The suit, dated July 18, 2024, argues that the failure to establish and fund the NDPC impedes the enforcement of privacy rights under the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023.
Babalola’s originating summons, brought under Sections 4(2) and 37 of the Constitution, as well as Sections 1, 19, 20, and 60 of the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023, seeks several declarations. He contends that data protection is integral to the right to privacy, and any breach of the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 constitutes or could constitute an infringement on this right.
He further argues that the NDPC’s failure to establish a fund for its operations, as required by Section 19(1) of the Nigeria Data Protection Act, hampers the enforcement of privacy rights. Babalola is calling for the court to mandate the Minister to establish this fund immediately, asserting that the current situation interferes with the objectives of the Data Protection Act.
Additionally, Babalola is asking the court to determine whether the refusal or omission by the National Assembly and NITDA to provide the necessary take-off grant to the Minister constitutes an interference with the right to privacy.
The outcome of this case could have significant implications for the enforcement of data protection and privacy rights in Nigeria.
