Balancing Data privacy in Nigeria’s AI future

BY MARTHA AGAS

In her one-room apartment in Lugbe, Abuja, 35-year-old Laraba Jacob was getting frustrated by incessant phone calls from agents of a mobile payment service.

Initially, she dismissed the calls as harmless.

The callers merely encouraged her to open an account, an offer she had once shown interest in.

However, over time, the calls became more frequent, disrupting her work, meetings, and even navigation while using digital maps around the city.

Jacob said she often ended the calls once she recognised the company, but they persisted.

She blocked one number, only to be contacted through another.

When she blocked that as well, fresh numbers emerged. She reported some calls as scams, later discovering that many others had done the same.

According to her, the situation persisted through most of 2025.

“In December, they called only twice. I think they got the memo, though they’ve already called twice this year and I didn’t pick,” she said.

Beyond the disturbance, the experience left Jacob wondering how the company obtained her phone number.

After reflecting, she recalled starting but never completing an online account registration about four years earlier.

Similarly, she said unsolicited messages from loan companies had also become routine.

She recalled receiving messages from the same loan company in July and September, while another sent three promotional messages in August alone.

“They sent messages on August 1, 18 and 19, advertising how Nigerians can manage cash crunches with quick applications and instant money,” she said.

For Jacob, the list of such adverts seemed endless. Her experience reflects a broader pat- tern affecting many Nigerians who regularly receive unsolicited calls and messages advertising goods and services.

Against this backdrop, Nigeria operates under the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA) 2023, which regulates how organisations collect, process and protect personal data.

Enforcement lies with the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC).

As digital banking, telecommunications, e-commerce, social media and emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) expand, Nigerians now share unprecedented volumes of personal data, heightening risks of misuse, breaches and cybercrime.

Consequently, the NDPA grants individuals the right to be informed about data usage, access and correct personal information, request deletion or restriction, object to unauthorised processing, and avoid unfair automated decision-making.

In spite of this framework, Nigeria has recorded rising cases of data breaches involving banks, telecoms firms, online plat forms and public institutions, often linked to weak security systems and low public awareness.

Nonetheless, enforcement has intensified through investigations, compliance audits and sanctions against organisations that violate data protection rules.

Experts say foreign companies frequently access personal information such as phone numbers, email addresses and occupations for targeted advertising, a practice that often raises privacy concerns.

They argue that individuals should retain control over how their data is collected, stored and used, including the right to consent or demand deletion. However, even as privacy risks persist, analysts stress that data remains central to building a strong AI ecosystem, describing it as “the new oil”.

They note that in Nigeria’s growing digital economy, data is a strategic asset driving innovation, investment and competitiveness, even as the country seeks to balance privacy protection with AI advancement.

Emphasising this point, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Mr Aminu Maida, described AI as essential infrastructure, comparable to roads, power and ports.

According to him, countries that build the right foundations for AI will unlock productivity, jobs and new economic opportunities.

Similarly, at the 2025 Centre for Journalism Development AI Summit, the Managing Director of Co-Creation Hub (CCHub), Dr Oluwaseun Adepoju, said Africa cannot build an impactful AI ecosystem without strong data infrastructure.