Banks, telcos, varsities to face severe sanctions as citizens leverage Data Protection Act 

From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja

As more Nigerians resolve to leverage the Data Protection Act, recently signed by the Federal government some banks, telecoms firms, and universities may be at risk of losing billions of Naira and jail terms.

DailySun gathered that the the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) is currently investigating data controllers of major importance including some leading new generation banks, Leadway Insurance and Babcock University among others.

Findings also revealed that the Commission is investigating over 400 complaints in the online lending sector. 

It was also discovered that many microfinance banks are yet to align their operations with the dictates of data privacy and protection.

Under Part 10 of the newly signed Data Protection Act 2023, a data controller with a turn-over of 200 billion naira yearly may pay as high as 2 billion naira which represents 2 percent of the gross revenue. Not only that, offenders also risk up to 1 year jail term.

In the last few weeks, the NDPC received complaints bothering on unlawful data processing, unauthorized access to personal data and violation of data subjects’ rights, a source working at the Commission had revealed. 

In addition, “Soko Loan is already working to return to the digital lending market, but it is yet to receive the nod of NDPC.   

In recent times, so0me loan sharks” have come under scrutiny with Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission mandating privacy compliance and clearance by NDPC before granting approval to online lenders.” The source said. 

At various fora, the leadership of the Commission explained the measures for ensuring compliance with data protection rules and regulations. 

“The Commission prioritizes awareness more than scorched earth enforcement. However, some banks, a state government agency, and few data controllers had to go through a remediation process to ensure adequate compliance. With the new Data Protection Act, the Commission now has a strong  legal weapon to rein in  abusers of citizens’ privacy.” The person noted. 

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