By Emmanuel Adefeso Esq.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited is adopting three strategies to achieve a carbon-neutral economy and reduce global warming as well as other effects of climate change in Nigeria. The Group Managing Director, NNPC, Mele Kyari, said the oil firm would adopt low-carbon technology across its operations, deepen natural gas utilisation to reduce energy poverty and invest in clean energy.
By Ronaldson Diete-Spiff, Esq
Due to the rise of fake PCR test result and vaccination cards, the Federal Government has inaugurated the Presidential Steering Committee in a bid to checkmate the surge in the increase of fake PCR tests and vaccination cards and have also deactivated the passports of almost 200 COVID-19 test defaulters. This call was spear headed by the Commissioner for Health Prof. Akin Abayomi of Lagos state wherein he reiterated that the committee has come up with over 200 defaulters and have been summoned to appear before a mobile court and failure to make themselves available have led to the deactivation of their passport for one year.
By: Nneka Oduada Eze (Esq)
The United States (US) Mission in Nigeria recently released a statement where it announced the extension of the visa fee validity to September 2023.
The statement reads: “The United States Embassy and Consulate in Nigeria understand that many visa applicants have paid the visa application processing fee and are still waiting to schedule a visa appointment. “We are working diligently to restore all routine visa operations as quickly and safely as possible. In the meantime, rest assured that the US Mission will extend the validity of your payment (known as MRV fee) until September 30, 2023, to allow all applicants who were unable to schedule a visa appointment as a result of the suspension of routine consular operations an opportunity to schedule and/attend a visa appointment with the already paid fee.”
This is coming at a time when applicants have been faced with serious difficulty securing appointment dates as thousands of applicants were confronted with serious difficulty getting appointment date. The earliest appointment date that many applicants are getting is nine months from the date of booking, a situation that unsettles them based on their reasons for visiting the US. Visa fee is only valid for one year from the date of payment.
The purpose of this extension is to accommodate applicants facing difficulty in booking appointment for non-immigrant visa and also enable all applicants get appointment date.
The embassy explained that it is working efficiently to restore routine consular services that were suspended because of COVID-19. This step is not just thoughtful but also a reassurance that the United State is working diligently to restore these routine consular services that were suspended in the last two years which is highly commendable.
Disclaimer: This news update is intended only to provide general information and does not by itself constitute or serve as legal advice. For further information, we are available to provide detailed legal advice. For more information contact us on info@asalawpractice.org or call 0908 482 0000, 0806 749 8777
By: Nneka Oduada Eze (Esq)
Following the media briefing that was held to mark the Data Privacy Week in Abuja, The Director-General of National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) Malam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi disclosed on Monday, 24th January, 2022 that NITDA is working with the Nigeria Police Force and other relevant agencies to investigate several lending platforms, popularly called loan shark platforms. The Federal Government has begun a probe of online banks over their alleged breaches of customers’ data privacy amidst the outcry of data invasion by Nigerians against lending platforms.
This announcement was made by the director of NITDA while addressing journalists ahead of the National Privacy Week 2022. According to Malam Kashifu, he stated that:-
“We are working with relevant agencies to make sure we address that challenge because it is not only NITDA’s mandate that governs everything. When you talk about any financial services, it is the CBN. When you talk about general complaints, there is a commission for that. But NITDA plays a critical role because of the breach of data privacy.
“We have sanctioned some of them. We are working with the Nigerian police, investigating many of them. We are working to address the challenge”.
NITDA had earlier imposed a fine of N10million on Soko Loan (an online company) for data breach in August 2021, to serve as a warning for the consistent breach of some Data subject’s privacy. In November 2021, NITDA partnered with the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission to address the increasing rates of data privacy abuse by money lending organizations, particularly fin-tech firms.
In reaction to this development, a tech policy analyst at Tech Hive Advisory Limited, by name Tolulope Ogundele, urged the Federal Government to adopt a multi-stakeholder approach by involving the private sector in order to enhance a better understanding of the lending sector. She further stated that “It goes beyond just working or collaborating with other agencies; a multi-stakeholder approach must be adopted. The government must seek the involvement of the private sector in order to understand the lending sector. Before these collaborations amount to any form of regulation, there is a cogent need to thoroughly understand the lending industry and the role of its players but the move to collaborate is a good step and start by the government”.
Loan shark platforms are heavily infringing on the privacy of their users. They access the customer’s phone contacts and send out messages without authorization. Some of these messages poses as outright threats and screams desperation on the part of these lenders.
The step taken by the federal government is a welcome development as many Nigerians are not spared from the consistent breach of their privacy by these online banking platforms. However, it is also important to see through the eyes of these platforms, despite their faulty approach vide unsolicited messages and threats; the rationale remains to recover their debt from loan defaulters. They eventually breach the user’s privacy when these defaulters become unresponsive.
The government must take deliberate steps in protecting these businesses while ensuring strict adherence to the data policy regime, particularly with the near impossibility of an average Nigerian securing easy access loans from commercial banks. There is need for clear-cut policy, regulatory, institutional and legislative frameworks to streamline the modus operandi of these lending platforms, strengthen user privacy and data thereto and discourage serial loan defaulters
Disclaimer: This news update is intended only to provide general information and does not by itself constitute or serve as legal advice. For further information, we are available to provide detailed legal advice. For more information contact us on info@asalawpractice.org or call 0908 482 0000, 0806 749 8777
By: Nneka Oduada Eze (Esq)
Malam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, the Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) announced on Monday, 24th January, 2022 during the media briefing in Abuja that was held to mark the Data Privacy Week that the government plans to have a Code of Conduct for all social media platforms in other to understand the status of online and offline activities that could amount to infractions and breaches of the rules of engagement punishable under the country’s subsidiary laws. The Federal Government has declared that it will regulate big technology micro blogging sites and platforms to generate taxes and to protect the country’s sovereignty and integrity.
The action is coming barely two weeks after the government resolved almost a year dispute with Twitter after a declaration that the micro blogging company had met the conditions to operate in the country. The federal government found the move necessary due to the far-reaching implications of leaving the platforms open at the detriment of the country’s socio-economic development and the increasing danger of platforms being hijacked to harm Nigeria’s democracy.
The director of NITDA, who was also the Chairman of the Technical Committee on Federal Government/Twitter Negotiations, said the government was “socializing” on a Bill that would be presented to the National Assembly to take care of all aspects of the social media regulations.
Furthermore, the Director stated that NITDA in collaboration with other government agencies and the civil society organizations (CSOs), was also embarking on massive awareness campaign to secure the buy-in of Nigerians on the imperative of having well regulated platforms and strengthening compliance as all infractions both online and offline would no longer go unpunished with the regulations in place. According to him, NITDA, with the support of President Muhammadu Buhari and the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami, had invested heavily in data protection regulations by training Nigerians and expanding the frontiers of data privacy.
It is arguable that this proposed step is a means of curtailing the freedom of speak as contained in section 39 of the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended). Apart from the fact that social media is used to disseminate information swiftly; It has equally proven to be a willing tool in instigating tribal/religious wars and abridging national security with adverse consequences. Bloggers are usually at the fore front of misrepresentation of facts that often leads to misinterpretations and even libel in worst case scenarios.
In any event, neither a strict nor open ended data privacy regime would adequately address the concerns of the nation’s data privacy. It is hoped that a somewhat balance by government, stakeholders, and users of micro blogging sites and platforms in the circumstance would engender a win-win situation, thereby deflecting any insinuation of bad faith in the regulation of big technology micro blogging sites and platforms.
Disclaimer: This news update is intended only to provide general information and does not by itself constitute or serve as legal advice. For further information, we are available to provide detailed legal advice. For more information contact us on info@asalawpractice.org or call 0908 482 0000, 0806 749 8777
