The Nigerian Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (NIEEE) has expressed its readiness to collaborate with the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) to develop technical standards that embed privacy-by-design principles in engineering projects.
The NIEEE President, Dr Felix Adegboye, stated this at a hybrid national technical discourse themed “Your Data, Your Power: Engineers Protecting the Future in an AI World,” organized to commemorate Data Privacy Day 2026.
Data Privacy Day is observed annually on Jan. 28 to mark the signing of Convention 108, the first legally binding international treaty on data protection and privacy in the digital age.
Adegboye said the discourse aimed to raise awareness on the protection of personal data online and promote best practices in data security, including the use of strong passwords and responsible online behavior.
“We join the rest of the world in celebrating World Data Protection Day. We live in a digital age where our data requires as much protection as our lives. Data security and privacy must be given priority,” he said.
He added that engineers have a critical role to play in ensuring data protection through collaboration and the development of standards that incorporate privacy-by-design in engineering solutions.
The keynote speaker, Dr Vincent Olatunji, National Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer of the NDPC, described data privacy as a fundamental human right protected under the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDP Act) 2023.
Olatunji said the Act empowers citizens to control how their personal data is collected and processed, stressing that such data should only be accessible to authorized persons or organizations and safeguarded against unauthorized access, disclosure or loss.
“Personal data should be collected only for specific, explicit and legitimate purposes. Data collection must be limited to what is adequate and relevant, and retained only for as long as necessary to achieve the purpose for which it was collected,” he said.
He noted that engineers play a vital role in ensuring ethical artificial intelligence (AI) development and responsible system design, adding that strong risk-resilient designs are necessary to protect users from emerging AI-driven threats.
Olatunji warned that Sections 48 and 49 of the NDP Act empower the NDPC to impose penalties or remedial fees for non-compliance.
He explained that the penalty for a data controller or processor of major importance is the higher of N10 million or two per cent of its annual gross revenue in the preceding financial year, while non-major controllers or processors face the higher of N2 million or two per cent of annual gross revenue. He added that sanctions may also include prosecution and imprisonment of a chief executive officer for up to one year.
The NDPC boss further disclosed that demand for AI engineers and data-centric professionals continues to dominate global hiring, with about 1.3 million new AI-related roles created within two years.
“In Nigeria, the data protection ecosystem has the potential to generate over 500,000 new jobs and has already created more than 23,000 roles, offering significant opportunities for engineers to provide high-value digital services,” he said.
Also speaking, the guest speaker, Dr Kennedy Okokpujie, an Associate Professor of Information Communication Engineering at Covenant University, urged engineers to embrace their responsibility as protectors of the future.
He said engineers determine whether security is optional or built into systems by default, adding that Nigeria’s AI future will be shaped by the engineers trained locally and the systems they design.
“The question is no longer whether Nigeria will be part of the AI age, but what role it will play,” he said.
