Nigeria election agency wants robust protection for biometric voter database

The Independent National Electoral Commission of Nigeria (INEC) is seeking firmer collaboration with the country’s data protection commission to enhance security around the biometer voter registry.

This was the key point during a recent meeting between INEC’s Chairman, Prof Yakubu Mahmood, and the National Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), Dr Vincent Olatunji.

According to a post on the NDPC’s Facebook account, the discussion between the officials touched on how the two bodies can work together in order to keep the data of over 93 million Nigerian voters safe and secure.

Speaking, the INEC Chairman emphasized the importance of data protection in the electoral process, without which there can be no polls. He said their partnership with the NDPC will enable the election management agency have a better understanding of importance aspects of data protection including compliance.

In his own remarks, Olatunji talked about data protection from a historical perspective and highlighted efforts by the government of Nigeria to make data protection an integral aspect of the country’s digital revolution. Such efforts, he said, reached a milestone last year with the enactment of the Personal Data Protection Act by President Bola Tinubu.

Olatunji noted that because the consequences of data protection inadequacies are grave, it is necessary for institutions like INEC, which holds the biggest voter registration database on the continent, to leave no stone unturned in ensuring maximum security for such data through rigorous compliance measures. This, he mentioned, includes steps such as designing a privacy policy, naming Data Protection Officers at the national and state levels, and establishing a working relationship with a data protection compliance organization.

As part of the partnership, the NDPC boss pledged to support INEC by offering training and capacity building for the election agency’s staff and Data Protection Officers on ways of better safeguarding data whose management they are a part of.

Olatunji, this week, also spoke at the Nigeria Data Expo and Conference 2024 during which he underpinned the critical place of data protection in Nigeria’s digital transformation endeavours. Among other things, he stressed the need for data subjects to know their rights and other data protection stakeholders to play their role as stipulated in the regulations in force.

Recently, there’ve been concerns about data breaches in Nigeria, with digital rights advocates urging the identity management authority to take its responsibility and bring the situation under control.

INEC also has a collaboration with the National Population Commission (NPC) for a cleaner voter registry.

Article Topics

Africa  |  biometric data  |  biometric identifiers  |  biometrics  |  data protection  |  digital identity  |  Nigeria  |  Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC)  |  voter registry