Nigeria’s Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Pantami says the market value of Nigeria’s Data Protection Sector in the country is now valued at 5.5 billion. In view of this, Professor Pantami stressed the need for a data protection law in the country which will in turn give foreign investors the confidence to do business in Nigeria.
Professor Pantami disclosed this in a Press Conference to mark the commencement of the 2023 Global Data Privacy Week in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital The Minister noted that potential investors today ask if Nigeria has a Data Protection law before they can invest in the country. “As of today, the Data Protection Bureau has created many jobs by 2022. The value of it today is around 5.5 billion naira in Nigeria” “ it is a global best practice to have a data protection law in place, otherwise you will find it difficult to attract so many interventions that are of benefit to your country, secondly, even potential investors today may ask questions whether you have data protection laws in your country or not. “If you don’t have any data protection law in place they will feel uncomfortable coming to your country and investing because today, data is critical, “The Minister said He further said that “Whenever we engage with potential investors, we try to convince them of the need of coming to Nigeria to invest, and they always ask if we have data protection law, but we have subsidiary law, and many of them do agree with subsidiary law and at the same time, many disagree that subsidiary law is sufficient for them, but in Nigeria it is sufficient”, Pantami stated.
For this reason, He said that the Ministry came up with the proposal of having a fully-fledged data protection institution and also principal legislation of data protection relations in Nigeria. Professor Pantami explained that privacy in Nigeria is not only in the enabling law, but rather it is the constitutional right of the citizens and It is part of the fundamental human rights in Nigeria. “The law about data protection is not in any way to punish our citizens, but rather to create awareness so that we will all be data compliant, that is why it is important, we are urged to comply, and today because of awareness creation, reaching out to other institutions, sanctions and interrogating others, you will discover that the compliance rate is going higher,” he added. In his remarks, the National Commissioner of Nigeria Data Protection Bureau, Dr. Vincent Olatunji said the aim of the privacy week was to sensitise people and disseminate privacy practices and principles across society.
Mr. Olatunji also appealed for the institutionalisation of data protection in the public sector through the issuance of a service-wide circular to all. According to Dr.Olatunji, “the Bureau has embarked on a sensitisation tour to different, Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) for compliance with the provisions of the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation and also to keep them abreast of what the Bureau is doing, as enshrined by the law in data protection, and to also get their buy-in.” He said; “We are taking the lead to ensure that we have a principal law for data protection in the country. What we are doing now is to create awareness. We have visited and trained over 50 public sector organisations .
He commended the Minister for the effort he made to ensure that NDPB was established and also for his efforts in ensuring the approval of the Data Protection Bill by the Federal Executive Council (FEC). Olatunji encouraged Nigerians to own up to their responsibilities in order to bring about a culture of data privacy. The Global Data Privacy Day 2023 has as its a theme: “Think Privacy First”. The day is marked every January 28 and Nigeria is the first African country to join the developed countries in celebrating the day. Data Privacy Day is a day that has been set aside to create awareness of fundamental rights and freedoms relating to the privacy of citizens in the data processing ecosystem.
The National Commissioner/CEO of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), Dr Vincent Olatunji, was at the office of the new Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Mr Rafiu Adeladan, to brief him on the Commission’s mandate.
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Feedback from the 2025 NADPA-RAPDP Conference & AGM
#championingprivacyrights #nadpa2025 #PrivacyInAction
The Head of Information Technology and Cybersecurity at the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), Mr Olorunisomo Isola, participated in a high-level plenary session on “Enhancing Digital Resilience: Cybersecurity, Data Protection, and Online Safety,” at the West African
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The opening ceremony of the 17th edition of the West African Internet Governance Forum (WAIGF), themed “Building a Resilient, Inclusive and Safe Digital Future for West Africa,” was held in Abuja, with the keynote address delivered by the Minister of Communications, 1/5
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The National Commissioner/CEO of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), Dr Vincent Olatunji, represented Nigeria as a panelist during a panel session titled “Digital Identity: Data Risk Governance” at the 2025 edition of ID4Africa in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
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The National Commissioner/CEO of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission, Dr Vincent Olatunji, is participating in the ongoing ID4Africa Summit themed "Digital Identity at Scale: Prioritising Use, Accelerating Impact," currently taking place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
2The 2025 edition of the Network of African Data Protection Authorities (NADPA-RAPDP) Conference and Annual General Meeting featured a Masterclass titled “Enabling Privacy and Innovation through Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PETs).” 1/4
2The second break-out session of the recently concluded Network of African Data Protection Authorities (NADPA-RAPDP) Conference and Annual General Meeting was chaired by the Senior Data Protection Expert with the European Commission’s International Digital Cooperation Project,,1/4
2The National Commissioner/CEO of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), Dr Vincent Olatunji, received a delegation from the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), led by the National Coordinator on Immigration and Border Governance at the IOM, Mrs Emiola Oke, 1/7
2To conclude the plenary sessions at the Conference and Annual General Meeting of the Network of African Data Protection Authorities (NADPA-RAPDP), Lori Baker, Vice President of Data Protection and Regulatory Compliance at the Dubai International Financial Centre Authority...1/5
2The fourth plenary session of the Network of African Data Protection Authorities' (NADPA-RAPDP) Conference and Annual General Meeting, themed “Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Africa: Privacy Paradox,” 1/5
2The National Commissioner/CEO of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), Dr Vincent Olatunji, received delegations from Zambia and Zimbabwe on a working visit to the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja. The purpose of the visit was for the delegations to understudy... 1/7
2The National Commissioner/CEO of the NDPC, Dr Vincent Olatunji, received a delegation from Morocco’s Commission Nationale de Contrôle de la Protection des Données à Caractère Personnel (CNDP)—also known as the National Commission for the Protection of Personal Data, Morocco...1/5
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The 2025 edition of the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Network of African Data Protection Authorities was held in Abuja, with 20 member-nations in attendance.
The National Commissioner/CEO of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), Dr Vincent Olatunji ... 1/4
Following the successful hosting of the 2025 edition of the NADPA-RAPDP Conference and Annual General Meeting, the NC/CEO of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), Dr. Vincent Olatunji,received representatives from several Data Protection Authorities including those,
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In line with its efforts to promote human capital development within the data protection and privacy ecosystem, and raise awareness about data protection and privacy, the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), in collaboration with Means/Square Database Environmental....
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The National Commissioner/CEO of the NDPC, Dr Vincent Olatunji received in audience, representatives from Meta, Microsoft, and Google for a strategic meeting.
The purpose of the meeting was to explore collaboration between these industry giants and the Commission.
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