The federal government has warned that anyone found tampering with or unlawfully disclosing citizens’ personal data ahead of the 2027 general elections will be prosecuted.
The warning was issued by the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), which said it is closely monitoring how personal information is being collected and handled as political activities ahead of the 2027 elections begin to intensify.
The National Commissioner of the NDPC, Vincent Olatunji, gave the warning on Saturday during an interview on Channels Television.
Olatunji said the commission is stepping up efforts to ensure that political parties, institutions and other stakeholders comply with data protection regulations, amid growing concerns over voter data privacy and security.
According to him, the increasing collection of voter-related information by political parties and other groups makes the protection of citizens’ personal data a critical national issue.
“They are collecting data of their party members. What kind of privacy safeguards, what kind of guardrails they have that they put in place? They don’t even know. That’s the truth. Anyone found revealing people’s data will be prosecuted,” Olatunji said.
