The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, has urged the Judiciary to strengthen its approach to data protection and privacy amid growing digital risks and the rising value of citizens’ personal information.
Kekere-Ekun said the Judiciary’s role in safeguarding citizens’ data has become increasingly important, given its economic value and how easily criminal actors can access and exploit it.
She stressed that judicial officers must keep pace with developments in digital technology and treat data protection and privacy as matters of national importance.
The CJN spoke on Thursday while declaring open a two-day National Workshop on Data Protection and Privacy for Judges and Judicial Officers at the National Judicial Institute (NJI), Abuja.
The NJI organised the workshop in collaboration with the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC).
The NJI Administrator, Justice Babatunde Adejumo, represented Kekere-Ekun at the event.
She described data as a critical resource public and private institutions use to achieve their objectives, noting that its growing economic value has also made it a target for criminal exploitation.
According to her, misusing citizens’ data can facilitate criminal activities, undermine government operations, and contribute to economic instability.
She urged the Judiciary to remain informed about emerging data-related challenges and the legal safeguards required to protect personal information in an increasingly digital society.
“The collection, management, utilisation, and disposal of data create a distinct cluster of rights, including the rights to be informed, of rectification, of erasure, and to object to data processing, all of which must be vigorously safeguarded.
“In this regard, the Judiciary is regularly called upon to adjudicate disputes regarding regulatory compliance, determine liability when data rights are breached, and carefully weigh issues of proportionality, particularly when balancing collective public interests against individual privacy rights,” she said.
Justice Kekere-Ekun therefore called on their Lordships across the country to familiarise themselves with and ground themselves in the provisions of the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 and global best practices to aid their judicial interpretations and adjudications.
Justice Kekere-Ekun commended the NDPC for the collaborative workshop and called for more collaboration among Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government to support the work of the nation’s Judiciary.
The National Commissioner/CEO of the NDPC, Dr Vincent Olatunji, who stressed the importance of the Workshop, also quoted various authorities to support the need for data safety and individual privacy without breaching the country’s sovereignty and constitution.
“My keynote is not going to pre-empt our deliberations – for it is our sincerest desire to learn from you and benefit from the pristine pool of your wisdom.”
“Nevertheless, our passion for this noble cause impels us to venture some of our cherished guardrails as we protect the interests of our citizens and legal residents in the volatile frontiers of the 4th Industrial Revolution.
“As a country, we are cognisant of the foundational law, the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Just as we are now attaching weight to the words of Sapara Williams, my noble lords may feel called upon to attach more weight to Section 37 of this Constitution in this age, which brings both prosperity and the perils of technology.
“My lords are familiar with the words and intent of this provision. For ease of reference, the provision states, “The privacy of citizens, their homes, correspondence, telephone conversations and telegraphic communications is hereby guaranteed and protected.” Dr Olatunji said.
He said the NDPC has, over the past three years, created more than 27,000 new jobs, trained over 41,000 Data Protection Officers, investigated over 240 data breach cases, and built capacity for over 6,000 public and private sector officials.”