The National Commissioner for the Nigeria Data Protection Bureau, Dr Vincent Olatunji, speaks with TEMITAYO JAIYEOLA about the new Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023, protecting the data rights of Nigerians, regulating AI, and more
Nigeria now has a data law after many years of collaborative efforts. Please could you break down how this law would impact the average Nigerian?
The major focus of the law is to implement measures that will protect the data rights of Nigerians. That whatever data is being collected, processed, stored, or shared in any manner is done properly.
We didn’t have this before. In addition to that, there are a lot of provisions in the law that put in place measures for data controllers to create adequate safeguards to ensure that the data collected is treated properly.
In terms of safeguarding the rights of Nigerians, if there are any issues, a lot can be done now. They have a commission they can report to.
You have been investigating…