Emma Okonji
CEO of Computics Limited, Mr. Moses Braimah has welcomed the recent Federal High Court judgment in Emmanuel Harunna vs. Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), where the court affirmed the commission’s authority to regulate major data handlers, including decentralised Point-of-Sale (PoS) agent networks.
According to Braimah, the judgment has officially ended the era of treating data protection as an IT department responsibility, and has unlocked one of Nigeria’s most overlooked economic opportunities.
“Far beyond a legal victory, the judgment redraws Nigeria’s digital economy. It is a corporate wake-up call, a regulatory milestone, an economic opportunity and, above all, a victory for millions of Nigerians whose personal information has too often been treated as an unprotected commodity,” Braimah said.
The court ruling has effectively armed the NDPC with the legal certainty to enforce compliance across Nigeria’s digital ecosystem. Under the NDPA, non-compliant organisations face administrative penalties that can be as high as N10 million or two per cent of annual gross revenue, depending on the severity of the violation. That transforms data governance from a routine compliance checklist into a board-level financial, legal and reputational risk requiring immediate executive oversight, Braimah further said.
Analysing the judgment, Braimah said every organisation classified as a Data Controller or Processor of Major Importance must now register, conduct periodic compliance audits and strengthen internal governance. “That requirement creates sustained demand for licensed Data Protection Compliance Organisations (DPCOs), cybersecurity professionals, privacy lawyers, compliance auditors and certified Data Protection Officers (DPOs). Thousands of qualified Nigerian graduates can now build careers in a rapidly expanding profession instead of competing for shrinking traditional employment opportunities,” the expert said.
He explained that for government, the implications remained equally significant, as registration fees, annual compliance filings and lawful enforcement will create sustainable internally generated revenue while expanding the formal digital economy.