The National Commissioner/CEO of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), Dr Vincent Olatunji, was represented by an officer from the IT & Cybersecurity Department of the Commission, Mr Abubakar Mahmud, at the Stakeholders’ Consultation on Frontier AI hosted by NITHUB, University of Lagos and the Tech Governance Project.

Delivering the Keynote Remarks, Mr Mahmud highlighted the vulnerabilities of using uncurated data pipelines for advanced foundation models, warning that they expose the national digital ecosystem to automated cyber exploitation and mass disinformation. He also emphasised how the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023 (NDP Act) mandates strict data minimisation and algorithmic transparency, advocating for the integration of ISO/IEC 42001:2023 standards within Nigeria’s upcoming AI Regulatory Sandboxing Platform to embed privacy-by-design and accountability from inception.

Mr Mahmud stated that through proactive co-creation, regional harmonisation across the African continent and collaborative alignment with international standards, the NDPC remains fully committed to a multi-stakeholder alliance involving government, academia, industry and civil society. He assured delegates that this collective effort will safeguard sovereign digital assets and foster an AI ecosystem where Nigerian technology stands as a global beacon of trust and safety.

The consultation explored the paradigm shift brought about by highly capable general-purpose foundation models, highlighting the transformative possibilities of frontier AI for national development while ensuring that robust data governance is established to mitigate novel systemic risks. From the session, it was reechoed that data protection is not an impediment to innovation, but rather the foundational infrastructure upon which safe, sovereign and globally trusted AI must be built.