The Nigeria's Data Protection Act 2023: A Look At Key Provisions

With the recent spate of personal data breaches occurring globally, the need for comprehensive data protection measures has never been more critical. In 2019, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) a body created in April 2001 to implement the Nigerian Information Technology Policy and co-ordinate the IT development in the country, issued the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation which was a timely and welcome piece of subsidiary legislation. The NDPR includes provisions for the manner in which personal data may be processed lawfully in Nigeria and provides the governing principles of data processing, the lawful basis for processing, rights of data subjects, the obligations of data controllers and data processors and the transfer of data to a foreign territory amongst others. Later in 2022, the Federal Government established the Nigeria Data Protection Bureau (NDPB) to oversee the implementation of the NDPR. Stakeholders within the ecosystem have