The Nigerian government says it may adopt a political solution to settle the $220 million fine slammed on Meta Platforms Inc. for alleged data breaches, as officials move toward dialogue rather than confrontation.
This was disclosed on Tuesday by the National Commissioner of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), Dr. Vincent Olatunji, during a one-day workshop for Data Protection Officers in Abuja. Olatunji explained that the NDPC is working with Meta to find a middle ground that addresses the violations without harming Nigeria’s digital ecosystem.
“We are working with them (Meta) to see if we can resolve the issue. We don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater,” Olatunji said. “We have to look at political ways of solving it.”
The Meta data breach fine came after a joint investigation by the NDPC and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), which found that Meta—the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp—repeatedly violated Nigeria’s data privacy laws between May 2021 and December 2023.
Key violations cited included:
- Transferring and sharing user data without consent
- Denying Nigerians the right to control their personal data
- Applying discriminatory policies compared to other countries
- Abusing its dominant market position with unfair privacy terms
On April 25, Nigeria’s Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal upheld the $220 million Meta data privacy fine, which Meta has since appealed. The company has also reportedly threatened to shut down its Nigerian operations in response.
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However, the FCCPC has made it clear that quitting Nigeria will not exempt Meta from facing the consequences of its actions. The agency stated that Meta must still be held accountable for violating the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) and the FCCPA 2018 law.
In the same event, the NDPC signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Mastercard to strengthen data protection in Nigeria. Olatunji said the MoU will help boost the country’s capacity to train certified Data Protection Officers (DPOs), leveraging Nigeria’s young, tech-savvy population.
“Our youths are digital natives, and we must equip them with the right tools to manage data responsibly,” he added.
The government’s decision to pursue a political and collaborative solution is seen as a strategic move to balance data protection enforcement with the need to sustain investor confidence in Nigeria’s digital economy.
