Data Misuse, Data Theft and Data Protection in Nigeria: A Call for a More Robust and More Effective Legislation

Abstract

The concept of life as we know it has changed dramatically in the 21 st century. The shift of the world from the industrial era to the information era has highlighted the value of data, its influence on global systems and economies, and the harm that may arise from its abuse. This makes data protection laws important to protect the privacy data subjects all over the world, which is a fundamental human right under article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR, 1948), and other globally recognized legislative instruments. As vulnerable stakeholders in the system, data subjects should have the power to decide what information to share with third parties and how this information is used. However, technological advances (such as the internet) have made the preservation of this freedom tricky. Therefore, States must enforce protection through legislative action. This paper examines the issue of data misuse and theft in the light of data privacy protection from a legal perspective, by reviewing the efforts that have been made in its development in Nigeria, the inadequacies of the current system and providing recommendations that can be implemented towards a more digital future.