The Nigeria Data Protection Bureau (NDPB) has said it will set up an Accelerated Data Protection Remediation unit to address petitions from data subjects.
This will enable Nigerians who feel that their data have been breached by any organisation to present their case for speedy resolution.
The unit, according to the Bureau, will operate for the period of its annual National Data Privacy Week scheduled to hold from January 28 to February 4, 2023.
In a statement signed by the Head of Legal Enforcement and Regulations, Mr Babatunde Bamigboye, the NDPB also announced that it will be holding a data privacy week in commemoration of Global Data Privacy Day 2023 which comes up on January 28.
Data protection awareness: Data Privacy Day is a day that has been set aside to create awareness of fundamental rights and freedoms relating to the privacy of citizens in the data processing ecosystem. The need for more data privacy awareness in Nigeria is coming amid the clamour for a speedy passage of the country’s Data Protection Bill into law.
Speaking on Nigeria’s participation in the global awareness drive, Bamigboye said:
- “In line with the overarching global objective of awareness of data privacy, the Nigeria Data Protection Bureau (NDPB), will be organising a National Privacy Week. The week is a week of intensive focus on awareness creation in the area of data subjects’ rights, capacity building on data governance, and data breach remediation among others.”
According to him, National Privacy Week also coincides with the first anniversary of the establishment of the Bureau.
About the NDBP: The Nigeria Data Protection Bureau was established by the federal government to, inter alia, implement Nigeria Data Protection Regulation 2019 (NDPR). The objectives of the NDPR are to
- Safeguard the rights of natural persons to data privacy
- Foster safe conduct for transactions involving the exchange of Personal Data
- Prevent manipulation of Personal Data; and
- Ensure that Nigerian businesses remain competitive in international trade through the safeguards afforded by a just and equitable legal regulatory framework on data protection.
