Personal data is power, and it must be protected. FDJ champions strong data protection standards against both state and private actors, and helps citizens understand and exercise their rights over their own information.
Nigeria has the law. Enforcement is the gap.
The Nigeria Data Protection Act set out clear obligations for organisations that collect and process personal data, and clear rights for the people whose data it is. On paper this puts Nigeria in step with global standards. In practice, complaints go unanswered, investigations stall, and organisations that suffer breaches often face little consequence beyond an uncomfortable news cycle.
A right that cannot be enforced is a promise, not a protection.
Identity data raises the stakes
Almost everything about a Nigerian’s identity is now linked to the National Identity Number: a bank account, a SIM card, a pension, a passport, a tax record. A failure at the centre of that system is not the failure of one service but of all of them at once.
In July 2026 we convened an X Space on protecting personal data and advancing big tech accountability, which drew 163 participants and examined the National Identity Management Commission Act 2026. The Act introduces real safeguards, including penalties for identity theft and for corrupt conduct by officials with access to the register. It was also passed without meaningful consultation with citizens or civil society, and the gazetted text remained unpublished after the President signed it — leaving every Nigerian subject to a statute governing their identity data that nobody could read.
What we do
- Document enforcement failures and support individuals seeking redress.
- Use freedom of information requests and litigation to obtain records that public bodies decline to release.
- Convene public discussion so that people understand what a new law actually changes.
- Press for ring-fenced funding and published enforcement statistics for the data protection authority, so the public can see how complaints are handled.
Privacy is not the price of technological progress. A national identity system can be both effective and accountable, and the argument that it must be one or the other is usually made by whoever would rather not be audited.
If your data has been mishandled, leaked or used without a lawful basis, report a case to us.