In 2026, there should be a surge in individual claims and constitutional privacy actions, a leading Data Protection Compliance Organisation (DPCO) in Nigeria, DataPro, has projected.
In a statement signed by its Head of Emerging Services, Ademikun Adeseyoju, the company noted that this means organisations must remain “litigation ready” by preserving processing records and strengthening internal controls.
In the disclosure to prepare for this year’s Privacy Week themed Privacy in the Age of Emerging Technologies: Trust, Ethics, and Innovation, it noted that 2026 would also be defined by board and executive ownership, as privacy will no longer be an IT-only concern but a standing governance issue requiring regular risk reports and dedicated budgets.
“DataPro anticipates intensity on sector-specific enforcement, with the NDPC (Nigeria Data Protection Commission) focusing on high-risk industries like fintech, healthcare, etc,” a part of the statement made available to Business Post on Wednesday said.
Giving a review of key milestones from the 2025 ecosystem, DataPro said the NDPC moved decisively into active enforcement, publicly naming non-compliant entities, particularly in the financial services sector.
It also said the year witnessed landmark court rulings, affirming that transparency in personal data handling is a constitutionally protected right, as courts awarded significant damages to data subjects for privacy breaches, signalling that organisational size no longer shields against accountability.
The firm noted that regulatory settlements with multinational technology firms have set a high bar for behavioural advertising and data processing standards in Nigeria.
In the cybersecurity landscape, the year under review experienced an unprecedented surge in cyber threats, as attackers shifted their focus from technical exploits to identity-driven campaigns, targeting valid credentials with high precision.
“This identity-centric threat environment has made robust access management a non-negotiable requirement for corporate resilience,” it stressed.
As for the 2026 Privacy Week, DataPro has lined up activities, with launch of the Privacy Pulse A year-in-review of Nigeria’s Data Protection Ecosystem on Thursday, January 29.
The next day, a webinar tagged Privacy Pulse to train attendees on the new mandatory bi-annual in-house audits and DPO certification requirements will hold and next Monday, there is an interactive quiz designed to test organizational response to identity-driven cyber campaigns.
A social media session answering complex privacy questions via concise 30-second videos is slated for Tuesday, February 3, and the next day, it is for a social media showcase where winners will be selected for their insights on building Trust, maintaining Ethics in AI, and fostering Innovation under the NDPA.