The second phase of the Legal Basis Project has been launched in Abuja as stakeholders renewed calls for stronger data protection compliance and improved safeguards for the rights of data subjects under the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDP Act) 2023.
The unveiling took place during a Regulatory Engagement Session that brought together regulators, technology experts, legal professionals and key players in Nigeria’s digital economy.
Participants stressed the need for a robust data protection framework that promotes secure data processing, strengthens regulatory accountability and protects the privacy rights of individuals beyond reliance on consent.
The event attracted representatives from the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria and the Federal Ministry of Justice, among others.
Stakeholders commended the achievements of the first phase of the project while reaffirming their commitment to building an effective compliance system that protects personal data and ensures accountability among regulators and data processors.
Developed by Tech Hive Advisory with support from Meta, the Legal Basis Project was created to simplify the six lawful bases for processing personal data under the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023.
The six legal bases are Consent, Contract Necessity, Legal Obligation, Legitimate Interest, Vital Interest and Public Interest.
Speaking at the event, Meta’s Director of Privacy and Data Policy for Africa, the Middle East and Türkiye, Dr. Ololade Shyllon, described regulatory collaboration as essential to the project’s success.
She said the platform had recorded significant engagement since its launch.
“In less than six months of its launch, the platform received 4,360 unique visitors from 72 countries, generated over 1.58 million video views, and reached an estimated 1.6 million people across digital channels.”
Shyllon noted that while awareness of data protection had improved, many organisations were yet to translate that knowledge into practical compliance.
“The survey revealed that knowing is not the same thing as doing. A user who identified a critical basis then made no effort to document it, provide evidence for it, or do anything within the framework of a compliant architecture around it.”
Emerging Technologies and Policy Lead and Co-founder of Tech Hive Advisory Africa, Ridwan Oloyede, said the second phase focuses on helping organisations move beyond understanding the law to implementing it.
According to him, the initiative seeks to bridge knowledge gaps, align Nigeria’s data protection practices with international standards and improve compliance across the digital ecosystem.
He explained that Legal Basis 2.0 introduces a suite of automated compliance tools, including a Legal Basis Audit Tool, a Record of Processing Activities (RoPA) Builder, a Legitimate Interest Assessment (LIA) Builder, a Privacy Notice Generator, a Basis Switching Checker and an interactive chatbot named Paddy.
Oloyede said the upgraded platform is designed to help organisations conduct compliance assessments, generate documentation and navigate evolving regulatory requirements more effectively.
He added that continued stakeholder collaboration would be critical to strengthening Nigeria’s data protection framework and promoting responsible data governance.
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