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The Nigeria Data Protection Bureau (NDPB) has expressed confidence that an all-inclusive federal data protection law will be passed this year in Nigeria.
National Commissioner/CEO, NDPB, Dr. Vincent Olatunji expressed his optimism at the recent Data Protection Law Focus Group Discussion organized by NDPB and the Nigeria Digital Identification for Development Project (ID4D), a World Bank funded initiative focusing on promoting digital identification systems to improve development outcomes while maintaining trust and privacy.
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ID4D is also supported by the European Investment Bank and the French Development Agency.
The Data Protection Bill 2020 is currently before the National Assembly and it will replace the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR), 2019 if passed into law.  The NDPR is Nigeria’s principal law on data protection.
Part of the objectives of the Bill is to create a regulatory framework for the protection and processing of personal data and to safeguard the rights and freedoms of data subjects which are guaranteed under the Nigerian Constitution. A Data Protection Act will also give statutory teeth to the NDPB created this year by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The envisaged Act seeks to “establish the Data Protection Commission charged with the responsibility for the protection of personal data, rights of data subjects, regulation of the processing of personal data and for related matters.”
Download the DATA PROTECTION Bill, 2020
The Data Protection Law Focus Group Discussion which held in Abuja drew participation from all stakeholders in the public and private sectors including members of the Association of Licensed Data Protection Compliance Organisations of Nigeria (ALDAPCON).
As the country’s data protection ombudsman, the Bureau also recently held a stakeholders’ retreat for the development of its Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan (SRAP).
COVER IMAGE: National Commissioner/CEO, NDPB, Dr. Vincent Olatunji with some stakeholders including members of ALDAPCON during the Data Protection Law Focus Group Discussion
