SGF urges need to curb data breaches in Nigeria

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF Boss Mustapha, has urged the need to curb the menace of data breaches in the country. 

He made the call when the National Commissioner of Nigeria Data Protection Bureau (NDPB), Dr. Vincent Olatunji, led some staff of the Bureau on a visit to Mustapha at the Shehu Shagari Complex in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). 

The SGF expressed his delight on the visit of the National Commissioner and reinforced the need for the establishment of the Bureau in line with global best practice. 

He noted that Nigeria is fast becoming a data driven society hence, the need to curb the menace of data breaches. 

According to him,“Data theft is one of the most thriving businesses in the world. Everywhere you go, every country is putting measures in place so that data of its citizens are protected because accessibility to people’s data, unauthorized ones, would invariably allow anybody doing that to take absolute control over the people’s lives, from their financial transactions to their health records, to their access to certain information which can be manipulated.

“So I am glad that we are starting well, by laying the foundation that is required, which is having an institution by way of the Bureau.”

He also assured the NDPB of the federal government’s commitment to creating an enabling environment for the Bureau to achieve its statutory obligations by ensuring that the needed legislative framework is put in place.

The SGF assured that the Federal Government would do everything within its capacity to support the Bureau by ensuring that the needed legislative framework and service-wide circulars were worked out.

According to him,“I have listened to you and I have seen the prospects of the Bureau. I would want to assure you that if there is anything I can do to ensure that the necessary legislation is put in place as quickly as possible, I’m ready to do it. Because you are operating with regulation that was put up earlier, but you need a legislative framework that would strengthen your hands, even your surveillance over organizations that are supposed to process data – your ability to impose fines and penalties in cases of infractions.

“So I want to thank you for this visit and to assure you that the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation is willing to be one of your strongest advocates. And if need be, at the appropriate moment, you can work along with the Permanent Secretary, General Services Office so that you can craft a service wide circular to ensure compliance by the MDAs.”

Speaking earlier, National Commissioner/CEO of NDPB, Vincent O. Olatunji, said that the purpose of the visit was to acquaint the SGF with the activities of the Bureau and to seek collaboration with his office toward the implementation of a robust data protection regulation in Nigeria.

He also appealed for the institutionalization of data protection in the public sector through the issuance of a service-wide circular to all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) for compliance with the provisions of the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR).

According to him, the Bureau has embarked on a sensitization tour to different MDAs to keep them abreast of what the Bureau is doing, as enshrined by the law in data protection, and to also get their buy-in.

“We are taking the lead to ensure that we have a principal law for the data protection in the country. What we are doing now is to create awareness. We have visited more than 35 public sector organizations. We have discovered that in the audit report, the performance of the public sector is very poor, just 4 percent while the financial sector is 49 percent. So we have been visiting major data controllers in the public sector to create awareness. That is why we are here today to brief SGF,” he said.

He further said that the Bureau is ready to build the capacity of public servants in data protection.