Data Privacy and Protection: Implications of AI for Nigeria's Data Privacy Laws, with a Focus on the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023

Artificial intelligence continues to reshape global data ecosystems, intensifying debates around privacy, security, and regulatory preparedness. In Nigeria, the Nigeria Data Protection Act marked a major milestone by replacing the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation and establishing the Nigeria Data Protection Commission. This development strengthened the national data governance framework and expanded protections for data subjects. The NDPA introduces significant provisions like extraterritorial applicability, enhanced data subject rights including objection, portability, and safeguards against automated decision-making as well as stricter duties for data controllers and processors. It also regulates cross-border data transfers through adequacy assessments and appropriate safeguards, aligning Nigeria’s standards with international best practices and offering a foundational structure for regulating AI use in finance, telecommunications, healthcare, and other data-intensive sectors. However, several gaps persist in the NDPA when measured against the complexities of AI. Issues such as algorithmic transparency, explainability, and meaningful human oversight over ADM systems remain insufficiently addressed. The Act is silent on mandatory Data Protection Impact Assessments for high-risk AI, despite their necessity for mitigating systemic harms. Unclarified rules on sensitive and biometric data categories heavily used in AI create further ambiguity. Additionally, unpublished adequacy decisions complicate cross-border compliance, while Nigeria’s enforcement capacity, though improving through recent NDPC actions, remains at an early stage. This paper argues that while the NDPA establishes a solid legal foundation, Nigeria must adopt AIspecific reforms. These include mandatory DPIAs for high-risk AI, clearer ADM safeguards, transparent cross-border transfer mechanisms, and enhanced regulatory expertise for AI oversight.