Federal Government Fines Fidelity Bank N555.8 Million for Data Protection Violations
The Federal Government, through the National Data Protection Commission (NDPC), has imposed a fine of N555.8 million on Fidelity Bank for violations of customer data protection laws. This announcement was made by the National Commissioner of the NDPC, Dr. Vincent Olatunji, during a Validation Workshop on the Nigeria Data Protection Act General Application and Implementation Directive in Abuja on Wednesday.
According to Dr. Olatunji, the fine was levied after Fidelity Bank was found to have breached the provisions of the National Data Protection Act (NDP Act) 2023 and the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) 2019. The penalty, which constitutes 0.1 percent of the bank’s annual gross revenue for 2023, marks the largest fine ever issued by the commission.
"Data protection compliance is critical, and we have made it clear that non-compliance will be met with strict penalties," Olatunji stated. He emphasized that the NDPC’s approach prioritizes raising awareness and guiding organizations toward proper compliance, but significant breaches are dealt with according to the severity and impact of the violation.
Dr. Olatunji further disclosed that the investigation into Fidelity Bank began in April 2023, and despite initial cooperation, the bank's stance became uncooperative as the investigation progressed.
“Since we started, the major penalty we issued was yesterday (Tuesday) on fidelity bank. For the violation of the NDP Act, 2023, and the NDPR, 2019, we issued a fine of N555.8m and they have to pay. We have observed serious breaches and we have been working with them, investigating the issue since April 2023. But by the time we finalised our findings, they became arrogant and we decided to issue a full penalty on them which is about 0.1 per cent of their earnings for 2023.”
This led the commission to impose the full penalty of N555.8 million.
This case underscores the NDPC's commitment to enforcing data protection laws and ensuring that organizations respect the privacy and rights of individuals in Nigeria.
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