The National Assembly has commenced moves to review the National Data Protection Act 2023 in response to emerging cyber threats and rapid technological advancements, particularly in Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Chairman of the Senate Committee on ICT and Cyber Security, Afolabi Salisu, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja during the opening of a three-day Data Protection Awareness Promotion workshop organised for the Joint National Assembly Committee on ICT by the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) and Ampersand Development Partners.
Salisu said recent developments, including the rise of AI and the United Nations Convention on Cyber Crimes, had made it necessary to reassess the existing law to strengthen Nigeria’s cyber security and data governance framework.
According to him, there is a strong connection between data governance and cybercrime, stressing the need to reinforce areas of the Act where necessary to safeguard the country’s digital space.
We need to ensure the security of our country, particularly in cyberspace, while also strengthening our data governance framework in line with technological advancements such as AI,” he said.
The senator noted that lawmakers must fully understand issues surrounding data privacy and protection to effectively legislate on them.
“You cannot legislate effectively in an area where you lack sufficient knowledge. This workshop provides an opportunity for legislators to build capacity, understand modern principles of data protection and position ourselves to review the National Data Protection Act,” he stated.
He added that after three years of implementation, the National Assembly would assess how well the law had addressed Nigeria’s data protection needs and compare it with global best practices.
At the end of this exercise, we expect to develop a roadmap and timeline for the review of the National Data Protection Act,” he added.
Salisu also urged Nigerians to take responsibility for protecting their personal data, warning that many supposedly free public WiFi networks and mobile applications often harvest users’ data without their knowledge.
Also speaking, Chairman of the House Committee on ICT and Cyber Security, Stanley Olajide, described data as Nigeria’s “next prosperity resource,” saying the country’s future wealth would depend more on data than oil.
Olajide said strong data protection laws were essential to attracting foreign investment, noting that investors would only commit capital where adequate legal safeguards existed.
“Whatever data we have is our sovereign wealth and belongs to us. We must ensure the right legal frameworks are in place so that organisations or entities that breach data protection laws can be held accountable,” he said.
Drawing comparisons with the United States, he stressed the importance of ensuring that data generated within Nigeria remains protected under Nigerian laws and within the country’s jurisdiction.
