Nigeria and Data Protection

According to Omer Tene & Jules Polonetsky:

“We live in an age of “big data.” Data has become the raw material of production, a new source of immense economic and social value. Advances in data mining  and  analytics  and  the  massive  increase  in  computing  power  and  data storage capacity have expanded, by orders of magnitude, the scope of information available to businesses, government, and individuals. In addition, the increasing  number  of  people,  devices,  and  sensors  that  are  now  connected  by digital networks has revolutionized the ability to generate, communicate, share, and access data. Data create enormous value for the global economy, driving innovation, productivity, efficiency, and growth.  At the same time, the “data deluge” presents privacy concerns that could stir a regulatory backlash, dampening the data economy and stifling innovation."

It is therefore clear from the above that data, especially personal data(any data or information in connection with a specific individual, which can be used, separately or in combination with other data, to identify an individual) has acquired an immense value in the age we are living(the digital age) and serious steps ought to be taken to protect the personal data of citizens but Nigeria seems to be lagging behind as the best we have at the moment is the guidelines on personal data issued by National Information Technology Development Agency(NITDA) which is good gut not enough(what we need is a law) and there is also a draft bill on Personal Information and Data Protection which is pending before the federal lawmakers.

This does not augur well for the citizens whose personal data is scattered all over the place (banks, the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), GSM service providers and online retailers like Jumia and Konga who are currently making waves in the Nigeria internet sphere as online shopping is becoming increasingly popular among Nigerians).

In China they have taken serious steps to guard and protect the personal data of their citizens with the passage of such laws as the Peoples’ Republic of China Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests and persons who flout the law are been arrested and prosecuted. For instance the Police in China, apprehended a 10-member gang in Beijing and Shanghai for illegally obtaining and selling nearly one million...You can find the rest of the story here.