Personal data protection in Nigeria : reflections on opportunities, options and challenges to legal reforms

Loading...
Thumbnail Image

Authors

Abdulrauf, Lukman Adebisi
Fombad, Charles Manga

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Springer

Abstract

The right to personal data protection is, without doubt, an important right in the jurisprudence of rights in the contemporary information society. It is becoming as crucial as other orthodox human rights and also attracting significant attention from academics, lawyers, human rights activists and policy makers. In spite of the growing attention data protection receives at international and regional levels, Nigeria is still lagging behind many competitor states like South Africa in establishing an effective legal framework to protect personal data. Individuals‟ personal data is being collected and used without any serious form of control to check against abuse. This paper reflects on opportunities, option and challenges to legal reforms on data protection in Nigeria. It contends that certain legislative and practical challenges stand in the way of an effective legal regime on personal data protection. The paper suggests appropriate legal reforms that are needed to enable prevent the increasing risks of violating the right to data protection in a country that is making rapid advances in Information and Communication Technology but hamstrung by an outdated regulatory framework.

Description

Keywords

Personal data, Data protection, Data protection law, The right to data protection, Legal reforms, Nigeria

Sustainable Development Goals

Citation

Abdulrauf, L.A. & Fombad, C.M. Personal data protection in Nigeria : reflections on opportunities, options and challenges to legal reforms. Liverpool Law Review (2017) 38: 105-134. doi:10.1007/s10991-016-9189-8.