Principal Consultant, Data Pulse Nigeria Limited, Dr Adedoyin Talabi, has urged Nigerian universities to treat data privacy with the highest priority and promptly establish frameworks for implementing the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA) 2023.

He noted that modern universities act as a vast data ecosystem, often managing more personal information than financial institutions, while remaining vulnerable to cyber threats.

He gave the advice yesterday at a seminar organised by Data Pulse Nigeria Limited, in partnership with Trinity University, Yaba, in commemoration of the 2026 World Data Privacy Day held at the institution in Lagos.

Talabi, who was the guest speaker and speaking on the topic titled “Privacy in the age of emerging technologies: Trust, ethics, and innovation,” stressed the imperative of complying with the recent directive by the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC).

He said by ensuring data protection and privacy, these institutions are not only keeping save data of people, they are also keeping their future.

The consultant advised universities to set up a governance committee and invite consultants to work out data privacy is for their administration and different faculties of the school.

Recall that the NDPC, on February 19, began a sector-wide audit of tertiary institutions to enforce compliance with the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDP Act) 2023.

The commission said the exercise would assess compliance among universities, polytechnics, colleges of education and other post-secondary institutions that process significant volumes of personal data.

It gave institutions 21 days from the date of issuance to submit evidence of filing their 2024 NDP Act compliance audit returns, proof of appointment of a data protection officer with contact details, a summary of technical and organisational measures in place to safeguard personal data, and evidence of registration as a data controller or data processor of major importance.

The commission said failure to comply may lead to enforcement actions, including administrative fines, enforcement orders or criminal prosecution in line with the Act.

Vice Chancellor, Trinity University, Professor Clement Kolawole, said the seminar underscores the institution’s commitment to addressing pressing issues that shape the present and future, while “deepening our understanding of data protection and privacy.”