The Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has launched the Meta Supported Initiatives for Data Protection (M-SIDP), a two-year strategic program to strengthen data safeguards for Nigerian users.

Announcing the initiative on Monday via a press release signed by Head, Media Unit, Itunu Dosekun, the NDPC said it is in connection with the commission’s regulatory process involving Meta Platforms, Inc., following investigations into the company’s data processing practices in Nigeria.

“The initiative stems from a 2025 court-approved settlement after NDPC investigated Meta’s data processing practices, with Meta committing support aligned to the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 and related directives,” Dosekun said.

“The matter was concluded in 2025 through a court-approved settlement. As part of the settlement, Meta committed to supporting a two-year programme of public facing data protection measures that aligns with the objectives of the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023 (NDP Act), the NDP Act General Application and Implementation Directive (GAID) and the NDPC Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan (SRAP) 2023-2027.”

Dosekun explained that the M-SIDP targets governance and research, ecosystem safety, capacity building for data protection officers, and awareness campaigns focused on vulnerable groups, while NDPC retains full independent regulatory authority.

“The M-SIDP programme is structured around the following strategic areas: « Governance, Research and Development; Fostering Safety and Sustainability Mechanisms for Ecosystem & Technology; Capacity Development for Data Protection Officers (DPOs) and Data Protection Compliance Organisations (DPCOs); Public Awareness Targeting Data Subjects – with keen interest in vulnerable groups,” Dosekun added.

Nothing in this settlement, according to the statement, limits the commission’s independent statutory powers as we continue to exercise its regulatory mandate in relation to data processing activities in Nigeria, in accordance with the NDP Act and other applicable laws.

The commission promised to consistently provide periodic updates on the implementation of the M-SIDP programme and called on all stakeholders to support the initiative in advancing a secure and accountable privacy ecosystem in Nigeria.

Just last month, the presidential candidate for the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, once again called out the mobile networks operating in the country, saying that the ‘telecom cartel is bleeding Nigerians dry’.

A few weeks prior to May 2026, Sowore had demanded the “total occupation” of MTN Nigeria over chronic service failures.

In a post on his official X account on 23 April 2026, Sowore called on Nigerians to occupy MTN, lamenting the telecom company’s unexplained data loss and dropped calls despite its market dominance.

The activist also attached a 2026 chart by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) showing that MTN controls 51.8% of the nation’s 182 million telecom subscribers, far ahead of Airtel (34.1%), Glo (12.3%), and 9mobile (1.8%).

“Why MTN must face total occupation by Nigerians! They dominate Nigeria’s telecom space but operate with reckless disregard for their customers. Data vanishes without explanation, calls fail repeatedly, and accountability is nonexistent. MTN is totally and irreversibly irresponsible,” Sowore wrote.

Calling the company out once again on May 4, he lamented that the telecom cartel is bleeding Nigerians dry.

“The company now known as Most Terrible Network (MTN) sits at the top of this exploitation pyramid, stealing, robbing, and extorting millions of Nigerian subscribers daily,” Sowore wrote on X, lamenting that MTN is not alone.

“But they are not alone. Airtel Nigeria, Glo World and 9mobileNG are all complicit. All are feeding off Nigerians with impunity. Dropped calls. Vanishing data. Phantom charges.

“The agencies supervising are also complicit, no consequences. Enough is enough. This is not poor service; it is organized exploitation. #OCCUPYMTN NOW. Reclaim your digital rights.”