Nigeria, Togo pushing for personal data protection regulations

Stakeholders in Nigeria are rallying their efforts to ensure that the draft data protection regulation in the country, still pending in Parliament, can be vetted and passed into law as soon as possible. Similar efforts are being made by Togolese authorities who are working to see to it that personal data protection is part of the country’s digital ID ecosystem.

Private sector input needed for Nigeria’s data protection law

Solomon Musa, project coordinator of the Nigeria Digital Identity for Development initiative (Nigeria ID4D) recently met with some private sector shareholders to solicit their contribution to the passage of the country’s data protection regulation, reports the News Agency of Nigeria.

Speaking recently during a workshop on data protection and digital ID in Nigeria, Musa said a legal framework to protect personal data is vital for Nigeria’s digital identity ecosystem, and will work for the good of citizens.

Other than the need for personal data protection, Musa also reiterated the importance of the ongoing digital identity project itself.

Emphasizing the importance of digital ID, the official said it will not only provide proof of identity to citizens, it will also inform the federal government on better policy formulation in handling issues related to national development and security.

“Establishing a foundational ID is the first step to empowering people and facilitating access to basic government services. Civil registration and vital statistics system and the National Identity Management System are the foundational IDs in Nigeria. Without proper identity, people are excluded from basic services that provide foundation for support,” said Musa as quoted by NAN.

Musa also underlined the role of the Nigeria ID4D which is to ensure that every Nigerian has a legal and digital identity, based on a reliable and inclusive foundational ID system.

Nigeria ID4D has concluded a number of partnerships lately aimed at advancing the digital ID cause in African’s most populated nation.

Togo studies draft decree to regulate data for biometric ID cards

The council of ministers of Togo recently scrutinized a decree which seeks to lay down conditions for the registration, rectification, and updating of citizens’ biometric and biographic data collected for the biometric national ID card project.

The draft text also touches on conditions for the issuance of a unique identification number by the National Identification Agency (ANID) – the agency bestowed with the responsibility to do so, as reported by Togo First.

Togo is in the process of issuing unique ID numbers as part of the WURI project funded by the World Bank in six West African countries to the tune of about $400 million.

As consultations on the data regulation text continue in Togo, authorities say the MOSIP-based biometric registry should be complete by the end of this year.

In June, the country amended an existing law to allow ANID the powers to collect biometric and biographic data from citizens to prepare a foundational ID database for the national digital ID scheme.

Article Topics

Africa  |  biometric data  |  biometrics  |  civil registration  |  data protection  |  digital identity  |  Identification for Development (ID4D)  |  identity management  |  legislation  |  Nigeria  |  Togo