Paradigm Initiative Writes Immigration Service Over Nigerian Whose Privacy Rights Was Violated
Pan-African Digital Rights organisation, Paradigm Initiative, has written to the Comptroller General of Nigeria Immigration Service, demanding compensation for Nigerian Citizen, Ewohime Jeffrey Apkovweta, whose passport page was posted online following the allegation that he destroyed Nigeria’s diplomatic vehicles in London.
The organisation, while not touching on the separate issue of the vandalization allegation against Mr. Ewohime Jeffrey Apkovweta, is holding Nigerian Immigration accountable for violating the data privacy rights of the citizen by publicly displaying his international passport page, containing personally identifiable information, on social media.
NITDA’s Data Privacy Guidelines prescribes minimum data protection standards for all organisations or persons that control, collect, store or process personal data of Nigerian residents and citizens within and outside Nigeria. The scope of persons who are bound by the NITDA Guidelines is clearly specified in Section 1.3 of the Guidelines:
“These guidelines are mandatory for Federal, State and Local Government Agencies and institutions as well as other organizations which own, use or deploy information systems within the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
Tope Ogundipe, Director of Programs, Paradigm Initiative, stated, ‘’the letter to Nigeria Immigration was written in accordance with section 109 of the Immigration Act requiring a 30-day pre-action notice to state that the Immigration Services pay the citizen a sum of 10,000,000 only as compensation for the citizen, failing which the organization will institute a legal action to achieve this objective and other prayers.
This request is in accordance with the provisions of the Nigerian Data Protection Guidelines”, Ogundipe concluded.