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The Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has called for stronger institutional partnerships, improved regulatory cooperation and wider public awareness to strengthen enforcement of data protection rules in Nigeria, amid growing concerns over the handling of personal information as digital adoption expands.
The National Commissioner of the Commission, Dr Vincent Olatunji, made the call on Wednesday at the 2026 Data Protection Summit in Lagos, organised by the NDPC with the theme, “Strengthening Data Protection through Strategic Partnerships.”
Olatunji said the scale of Nigeria’s population, organisations and data processing activities made it impossible for the regulator to effectively discharge its responsibilities without the support of businesses, government institutions and other stakeholders.
He said protecting the personal information of millions of Nigerians required collective responsibility, particularly as more organisations embraced digital platforms and increased their collection and processing of citizens’ data.
“It would be absolutely impossible for us to be able to do that without the support of our partners,” he said.
The NDPC boss identified limited public understanding of privacy rights and data protection obligations as some of the challenges facing the country’s data protection ecosystem, stressing the need to educate citizens on how their personal information was collected, processed, stored and used.
“Privacy and data protection are still new to a lot of people,” he said, adding that citizens needed to understand both their rights and responsibilities.
He also urged organisations to take their responsibilities as data controllers and processors seriously, noting that compliance with data protection requirements should not be treated as optional.
According to him, businesses and institutions that collect and process personal information must understand their obligations and ensure that citizens’ data is handled responsibly.
“There is no escape from it. It has to be treated as a two-way thing,” Olatunji said.
Beyond domestic collaboration, the Commissioner called for stronger cooperation among African data protection regulators, arguing that countries could improve their regulatory frameworks by sharing knowledge, experiences and best practices.
“Nobody knows it all. When we think we want to learn from others, that is how we learn from each other,” he said.
Supporting the call for greater regulatory cooperation, Executive Director of the Africa Digital Rights Hub (ADRH), Ms Teki Akuetteh, said differences in data protection laws across African countries could create difficulties for businesses and complicate cross-border transactions involving personal information.
She said the absence of sufficient harmonisation could undermine efforts to deepen digital trade and facilitate the movement of data across the continent.
“Across Africa, there is still that challenge of harmonisation of data protection laws,” she said.
Akuetteh, who cited differences between Nigeria’s and Ghana’s data protection laws, explained that such regulatory variations could affect the ease with which individuals and businesses transferred information and conducted transactions across borders.
“I’m coming from Ghana, and the differences between the Nigerian and Ghanaian laws can affect whether or not I can easily transfer, sometimes even move money from one country to the other,” she said.
She argued that strategic partnerships among regulators could help address the challenges by building trust and establishing common approaches to facilitate cross-border data flows without necessarily requiring countries to adopt identical legislation.
“That is why it is very important to have these strategic partnerships as a way of bringing people together, building trust among regulators and agreeing on a simple way to facilitate cross-border data flows,” she said.
Akuetteh identified the African Union’s data policy and the African Continental Free Trade Area’s digital trade protocol as important frameworks that could support cooperation and strengthen Africa’s digital economy.
However, she stressed that the push for cross-border data flows must not undermine citizens’ fundamental rights to privacy and protection of their personal information.
“Everybody deserves the right to have their information protected,” she said.
At the state level, the Lagos State Government said protecting personal information was essential to sustaining public confidence in digital government services.
Representing Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the Special Adviser on Technology, Innovation and Broadband, Engr Ganiyu Oseni, said citizens who submitted personal information to access government services placed significant trust in the institutions receiving such information.
“Every time a citizen provides personal information to access a government service, that citizen places confidence in the institution receiving it. We have a responsibility to justify that confidence,” he said.
Oseni noted that the state’s increasing deployment of technology to deliver public services, including residence and land registration, made responsible data management a critical obligation for government institutions.
He urged businesses and public institutions to view data protection as more than a regulatory requirement, describing it as an important foundation for public confidence, responsible innovation and investment.
“When properly implemented, it strengthens public confidence, supports responsible innovation and creates a more secure environment for investment and economic activities,” he said.
The Olórì of Ilara, HRM Oba (Dr) Olufolarin Olukayode Ogunsanwo, Tẹlade IV, also called for broader public participation in data protection awareness, urging the NDPC and other relevant institutions to take privacy education beyond regulatory and professional circles to communities and households.
He said traditional institutions could play an important role in educating citizens through community dialogues, town hall meetings and public enlightenment programmes.
According to him, data protection messages should also be communicated in local languages to reach people across different educational backgrounds and levels of digital literacy.
“Personal data is a valuable asset that must be handled with the utmost care, integrity and accountability. Its protection is not merely a regulatory requirement. It is a fundamental responsibility,” he said.
He added that traditional rulers could help bridge the awareness gap by using their influence and established community structures to promote responsible digital behaviour.
“Digital privacy awareness must become a grassroots movement rather than remain the exclusive concern of technology professionals and regulatory authorities,” he said.
The monarch, who is also Chancellor of Lagos State University, further called on tertiary institutions to establish data privacy awareness programmes for students, lecturers, researchers and administrators.
He said the increasing use of social media, online learning platforms, digital payment systems and artificial intelligence applications had exposed young people to various privacy and security risks.
“With the increasing use of social media, online learning platforms, digital payment systems and artificial intelligence applications, young people are exposed to various privacy and security risks,” he said.
“Without adequate awareness, even educated individuals may unknowingly compromise their personal information or that of others.”
He urged stakeholders to ensure that the discussions and commitments generated at Wednesday’s summit translated into practical measures that would improve citizens’ understanding of their rights and strengthen institutional accountability.
“Let us take the message of data protection from national platforms to university campuses, from university campuses to our communities, and from our communities to every household that participates in the digital age,” he said.
