Nigeria Commissions New NDPC Headquarters

Nigeria has commissioned a new headquarters for the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) in Abuja, providing the data protection regulator with a permanent facility as its responsibilities expand alongside the country’s growing digital economy.

The facility, which had previously been recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), was allocated to the NDPC, with renovation work beginning in March 2026. The commission received approval for the property in July 2025. The new headquarters was commissioned on Monday in Abuja by the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani.

Tijani said the facility addresses the NDPC’s growing operational requirements and the need for an office that reflects its expanding role in Nigeria’s digital economy.

“The President directed that a property of this size that was recovered from the work of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission be allocated to NDPC,” the minister said adding that the conversion of the property into a government facility demonstrated how recovered public assets could be put to productive use.

“An asset that is recovered on behalf of the Nigerian people has been returned to productive use for the protection of Nigerian people. A property once associated with the consequence of corruption is today becoming the headquarters of an institution dedicated to protecting Nigerians and strengthening trust in our digital economy”, Tijani said.

The commissioning comes as data protection becomes increasingly important to Nigeria’s digital transformation, with government services, businesses and other organisations collecting and processing growing volumes of personal information. Tijani also highlighted the increasing role of artificial intelligence in the economy and the need for stronger safeguards around the use of data.

“As our digital economy expands, as more government services become digital, as more Nigerian businesses use data to create value, and particularly as artificial intelligence becomes increasingly embedded in our economy and society, questions around privacy, data governance, trust, and the responsible use of technology will continue to become more important,” he said.

The NDPC was established in 2022 and received a stronger statutory mandate following the enactment of the Nigeria Data Protection Act in 2023. Since then, the commission has expanded its regulatory and awareness activities across the country.

Speaking at the commissioning, NDPC National Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer Vincent Olatunji said the agency began operations with about 12 employees and limited resources. According to Olatunji, the commission has since licensed 356 Data Protection Compliance Organisations (DPCOs), which support organisations in meeting data protection requirements.

“Through the activities of these DPCOs and our own work, we were able to create 27,000-plus jobs within three years,” he said.

Olatunji further said that  the commission had generated more than $9 million (N12 billion) in revenue over three years, while the wider data privacy and protection ecosystem was worth more than $14 million (N18 billion). The regulator has also expanded its focus on data protection awareness and skills development. More than 66,000 Nigerians have enrolled in the NDPC’s virtual privacy academy, while 220 training programmes have reached 99,370 people.

The commission has established 17 data privacy clubs in universities and created 6,176 student ambassadors, with its wider awareness programmes reaching more than 250,000 Nigerians. The NDPC has also increased its international engagement, with representatives from 17 countries visiting Nigeria over the past two years to learn from its regulatory experience. The commission has signed 28 memoranda of understanding with organisations and data protection authorities in countries including Canada, Morocco, Liberia, Kenya and Ghana.

The new headquarters provides the commission with additional space as it takes on a wider regulatory role across Nigeria’s public and private sectors.

With businesses increasingly adopting cloud services, artificial intelligence and digital platforms, the NDPC is expected to play a greater role in setting data governance standards and overseeing how personal information is collected, processed and protected across the country.