Financial institutions must move beyond mere compliance and fully integrate data protection into their business culture to mitigate risks and gain a competitive edge, the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has advised.
The call was made by Dr. Vincent Olatunji, National Commissioner/CEO of the NDPC, during the Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism and Counter-Proliferation Financing (AML/CFT/CPF) Tabletop Session for executives of Providus Bank. Represented by Barrister Babatunde Bamgboye, Head of Legal, Enforcement, and Regulation at the NDPC, Dr. Olatunji delivered a keynote presentation titled “Embedding Data Protection into Business Culture: Beyond Compliance to Strategic Advantage.”
Addressing growing global concerns over data security, Dr. Olatunji warned that breaches could expose organizations to severe financial and reputational liabilities. He outlined key provisions of the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDP Act), emphasizing that banks, as major data controllers and processors, must implement robust measures to protect customers’ personal information.
The NDPC boss highlighted the Commission’s Public-Private Partnership (PPP) approach as instrumental in driving awareness and compliance across sectors. He noted that businesses prioritizing data privacy not only strengthen customer trust but also build more resilient and risk-aware operational models.
The session reinforced the need for financial institutions to treat data protection as a strategic imperative rather than just a regulatory obligation.
By Anthony Emeka Nwosu
