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ARTICLE · 30 JANUARY 2026

NDPC CAR Filing Countdown: What Data-Driven Organisations Must Do Before 31st March

Tope Adebayo LP
Tope Adebayo LP
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The clock is ticking. With days left to the 31st March Compliance Audit Return (CAR) filing deadline, the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has made it clear that enforcement is no longer theoretical.

NigeriaPrivacy
Mosun Oke
Mosun Oke
Tolulope Oguntade
Tolulope Oguntade
Azeezat Ogunsola
Azeezat Ogunsola
Philip Oladimeji
Philip Oladimeji
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The clock is ticking. With days left to the 31st March Compliance Audit Return (CAR) filing deadline, the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has made it clear that enforcement is no longer theoretical.

Recent NDPC actions leave little room for doubt. The Commission has launched wide-scale sectoral probes, imposed record-breaking fines, and adopted a clear "name-and-sanction" strategy. Over 1,300 organisations across finance, insurance, gaming, and other high-risk sectors have come under regulatory scrutiny, with penalties running into hundreds of millions of naira for data protection failures. This shift matters as missing the CAR deadline is no longer a procedural lapse. It can trigger deeper regulatory audits, public non-compliance listings, administrative penalties, and potentially severe financial exposure. With enforcement accelerating and the filing window closing, organisations that delay are not just late, they are visible.

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