Data Privacy Day 2020: CSEAN President Calls on President Buhari to Assent to Data Protection Bill

As the world marks Data Privacy Day 2020, cybersecurity expert and President of Cyber Security Experts association of Nigeria (CSEAN), Mr Remi Afon has called on Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari to assent to the Data Protection bill, which was passed by the 8^th National Assembly in May 2019.

Afon believes the president should be eager to signing the bill into law because he was once a victim of data privacy violation. According to him, during the 2015 presidential election, Cambridge Analytica allegedly worked with an Israeli intelligence firm, Black Cube to acquire hacked medical and financial information about him.

“As part of our advocacy as cyber security professionals, we urge the President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari to assent to the Data Protection bill, which we believe is on his table to commemorate with this year’s Data Privacy Day,” he said.

He explained that in May 2019, the National Assembly passed the Data Protection bill and sent it to the President for his assent. Unfortunately it is yet to be signed into law for the past eight months.

“One would have expected the President to act swiftly in signing the bill into law,” Mr Afon added.

The Cyber Security Experts Association of Nigeria has been advocating for Data Protection Law for years now.  But both the lower and the upper legislative chambers were magnanimous to pass the Data Protection bill last year.

According to Remi Afon, the Data Protection bill will be charged with the responsibility of the Protection of Personal Data and Data Subjects’ Rights and Regulation of the Processing of Personal Information, disclosing that the bill, when finally signed into law, will see an increase in the number of Data Protection Officers in the country.

In the today’s world of big data analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence, where organisations are making a fortune from data mining, the benefits of the Data Protection Bill cannot be overemphasized. The bill contains strict rules called data protection principles which organisations, government and businesses must follow to keep personal data accurate, safe and secure.

It also ensures that personal data are used fairly and lawfully and not kept more than necessary. The bill, when passed into law will ensure Nigerians personal data are protected.