As of August 2025, Nigeria had about 140 million internet subscribers, with broadband penetration nearing 49 percent, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission NCC. In such a wired nation, where personal information is now a form of currency, the stakes have never been higher. Guarding that frontier is Dr Vincent Olatunji, National Commissioner of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission NDPC, whose mandate is to turn Nigeria into a data-safe economyand Africa into a data-respecting continent.
Nearly half of Nigerians now live in a mobile-first, internet-first environment where names, biometrics, financial records, and location data are constantly exchanged. As Africas digital ecosystem expands, so do the risks of misuse, breaches, and exploitation. Olatunji insists that trust and compliance are the oxygen of any digital economy. Without a strong framework for privacy, digital transformation collapses under the weight of unregulated data practices.
