Paradigm Initiative, Senegalese Commission collaborate to step up advocacy on data protection

The Paradigm Initiative, PIN and the Commission de Pretection des Donnees Personnelles, CDP of Senegal on Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU to step up advocacy on data protection and digital rights of Africa citizens.

Both vowed to strengthen data protection and digital rights advocacy beyond individual States to other countries in Africa, given the critical of need of ctizens rights to be preserved.
 

Advertisements

The Executive Director of Paradigm Initiative, PIN, Gbenga Sesan, said Data Protection Act of June 2, 2023, has paved ways for citizens to start winning cases in Nigerian courts over breaches of data protection with award of damages and other mitigation measures in favour of the litigants.

 
Gbenga Sesan, gave this revelation at a press conference organized by PIN and the Commission de Pretection des Donnees Personnelles, CDP of Senegal in Abuja.

Advertisements

Sesan said legal cases regarding data protection and digital rights based on the law passed by the parliament in Nigeria has become a force that data breaches can no longer be taken for granted, stating that there were significant award of damages as high as N8 million.

The Paradigm Initiative, a leading advocacy group in Nigeria and the Commission de Protection des Données Personnelles, CDP, responsible for data protection in Senegal, have agreed to form a strategic partnership to step up advocacy on data related issues across African continent.

According to Sesan, this partnership was initiated in July 2024 during a high-level courtesy visit to the President of CDP in Dakar where they understudy the data protection of Senegal which it was discovered that both countries shared commitment to digital inclusion, the responsible use of data, and safeguarding citizens’ privacy in the digital age.

He said data protection victories continue to encourage advocacy institutions in Nigeria to step up action, training and orientation on rights of citizes.

“These victories are not just legal milestones, they are the result of persistent grassroots advocacy, strategic policy engagement, and the growing belief that digital rights are as sacred as civil rights.”

Meanwhile the President of CDP in Senegal, Ousmane Thiongawe explained the perspective of data protection and digital rights in his country, saying anyone found culpable, particularly tech firms and other institutions would always face legal prosecution, stressing the need for African to forge a common stand against breaches.

”He cited a disturbing case in Nigeria, where national identity data was allegedly sold for as little as N100. “We had to buy the data of high-ranking officials to wake people up,” he revealed.

As Africa’s digital economy expands, he said, there was a need to urgently put in safeguards to avoid the potential exploitative tendencies.

Thiongawe praised the PIN-CDP alliance as a proactive step toward ensuring digital literacy, regulatory oversight, and empowerment, noting that Nigerian government did well to have enacted data protection law amid revolution in digital age.

Thiongawe pointed to Nigeria’s upcoming inter-bank data transfer framework as another critical area, even as CDP also expressed readiness to support Nigeria’s Central Bank and civil society partners to ensure strong privacy protections are embedded in the system from the outset.

Thiongawe said: “We can’t talk about the digital economy without protecting the people who power it,” he warned.

One of the most recent milestones in this journey is a Memorandum of Understanding between PIN and Senegal’s Commission de Protection des Données Personnelles (CDP). This partnership, shaped by months of technical exchanges and mutual understanding, aims to expand data protection capacity in West Africa.

Advertisements