Abuja, June 19, 2023 -More than N200 million has been realized by the Federal Government from penalties imposed on violators of data privacy in the country.
Dr Vincent Olatunji, the National Commissioner at the Nigerian Data Protection Commission (NDPC) said this on Monday.
Olatunji addressed journalists in Abuja on Monday in the aftermath of the signing of the Commission’s Act into law by President Bola Tinubu last Wednesday.
He said seven banks and some other financial institutions paid the fines, but did not name them.
He said the penalties were within a year of the infractions committed by the affected institutions after thorough investigations by the Commission.
Olatunji said that over 100 private sector institutions had been investigated for varying degrees of personal data privacy breaches within the past one year.
He cited instances where citizens personal data were wrongly captured by banks, and the concerned persons could not access funds in their bank accounts due to the infractions, while some customers had money wiped off their bank accounts due to personal data breaches.
Olatunji said a private university and some insurance companies were currently being investigated for data breaches.
He warned that under the new law, all data processors and controllers must, henceforth, have Data Protection Officers (DPOs) in their organisations.
Olatunji said compliance with the new law would not only boost the nation’s Digital Economy, but mainstream the country into global recognition and strengthen its standing in the global digital economy landscape. (GBN)
