President Muhammadu Buhari recently approved the establishment of a new government agency known as the Nigeria Data Protection Bureau (NDPB).

The establishment of the new government agency followed a request made by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami). Timeline.ng outlines benefits of the new government agency whose National Commissioner/Chief Executive Officer is Vincent Olatunji.

1. Protection and regulation of access to citizens data:

The NDPR was established to regulate those who have access to and control people’s data. Prior to the establishment of NDPR, there existed provisions in a few laws which protected certain information or data from unlawful use. However, unlike the NDPR, these provisions were ambiguous, inadequate, and ineffective in imposing sanctions and ensuring compliance in the event of a data breach.

2. Increased awareness about the need for data protection and privacy:

The NDPB would be responsible for consolidating the gains of the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR), a subsidiary legislation to the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) Act 2007, and supporting the process for the development of a primary legislation for data protection and privacy. Recall that NITDA in January 2022 said it was putting measures in place to impose more sanctions on data privacy violators such as Loan Applications’ platforms breaching its users’ privacy.

3. Availability of job opportunities:

The creation of the NDPB presents job opportunities for skilled and unskilled citizens, a development that will help reduce the overwhelming statistics of unemployment and underemployment in the country.