The Nigeria Data Protection Commission has increased the license fee for Data Protection Compliance Organizations from N50,000 to N2 million. The aim is to ensure that only serious and committed organizations apply for the license.
This announcement was made by the National Commissioner of the Commission, Dr. Vincent Olatunji, during a meeting with licensed DPCOs in Lagos on Wednesday.
DPCOs are authorized to assist organizations that handle Nigerian data, referred to as data processors and controllers, in complying with the Nigeria Data Protection Act.
The Commission reports that Nigeria has over 500,000 data controllers and processors. However, Dr. Olatunji noted that many DPCOs licensed at the previous fee of N50,000 have not been effective, leading to low registration rates among data controllers.
Last year, 19 DPCO licenses were revoked due to non-performance, and further revocations are expected this year. Currently, there are 291 licensed DPCOs.
“Last year, we revoked 19 licenses and may revoke more this year as we evaluate their performance,” said Dr. Olatunji.
“By increasing the license fee to N2 million, we aim to filter out unserious applicants and ensure that only those ready for business apply.”
Despite the low compliance with the data protection law, there has been some improvement. In the first year, only 622 audit reports were received from data controllers, but this number has now increased to over 3,000. However, with over 500,000 data controllers in Nigeria, the compliance rate is still about 20%.
“Our mission is to build a culture of data protection compliance in Nigeria, where we do not have to run after you before you comply,” said Dr. Olatunji.
Dr. Oyedokun Oyewole, President of the Institute of Information Management, also spoke at the meeting, highlighting that the data protection industry is still emerging.
The IIM, recently licensed by the NDPC to certify data protection professionals, faces challenges such as inadequate awareness among stakeholders about the importance of data protection.
The NDPC’s annual data protection report for 2023 revealed that the sector created 10,123 jobs, a 5.7% increase from 2022. Compliance revenue rose to N325 million, and the number of verified Data Protection Officers increased slightly to 1,955. The number of investigations also rose from 117 in 2022 to 177 in 2023.
Overall, the 2023 data protection cumulative revenue increased to N6.2 billion, up from N5.5 billion in 2022. Compliance Audit Reports saw a significant rise, with 3,451 reports in 2023 compared to 1,864 in the previous period.
The NDPC continues to work towards greater awareness and compliance in Nigeria’s data protection landscape, emphasizing the importance of data privacy in an increasingly digital world.
