Data Protection and Breach of Privacy: An Analysis of the Legal Regime for Prevention and Punitive Measures in Nigeria (Published)
The protection of the right to privacy of individuals in Nigeria is a constitutionally and statutorily enshrined right, which attract remedies in cases of unlawful breach. Accordingly, personal information or data such as names, addresses, health status, gender, Bank verification Numbers among others, are pieces of personal data that must not be unduly exposed, shared or sold by data controllers or processors in custody of such data. Using the doctrinal research methodology, this research critically analyzed Nigeria’s legal and institutional framework on the protection of data and the punitive measures for incidences of data breaches. Accordingly, this study found that the right to protection of privacy is statutorily protected by laws such as the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), the Nigeria Data Protection Act and other ancillary legislations. Arising from analysis, this research found that Nigeria’s current legal framework adequately provides for the protection of data but however lags greatly in the aspect of monitoring, enforcement and implementation. As part of its recommendations, it was suggested that more resources and manpower are needed by the Nigeria Data Protection Commission and allied agencies to pursue enforcement of the law through the registration of more data controllers, and data protection officers as well as in carrying out wider sensitization for individuals and corporate bodies on the rights of data subjects and the statutory obligations of those in charge of personal data of others. The research contributed to knowledge by showcasing the challenges in the aspect of monitoring, enforcement and implementation of the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023.
Keywords: Data protection, Nigeria, Prevention, Punitive, breach of privacy, legal regime
Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against Internationally Protected Persons Under International Law: A Critique of the Laws (Published)
In spite of the existence of the 1973 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Internationally-Protected Persons and other conventions on the prevention and punishment of crimes under international law, crimes against Internationally-Protected Persons continue to occur at an alarming rate. This dissertation is a critique of the laws on prevention and punishment of crimes against Internationally-Protected Persons. The general aim of the dissertation is to critically review the regulations on the prevention and punishment of crimes against Internationally-Protected Persons under international law. In dealing with the task of this dissertation, the doctrinal method of research, among others was adopted. References were made to all necessary source materials, for example the laws, textbooks and journals. After gathering information, the following observations came to the fore: the broad immunity granted under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961 has in certain cases been exploited to obstruct international justice; there is a lack of robust enforcement mechanisms under the relevant international conventions and there is jurisdictional challenges, for example, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) does not explicitly grant the ICC jurisdiction over such crimes, unless they fall within the broader categories of genocide, war crimes or crimes against humanity. Based on these observations, the following recommendations were proffered: there should be an amendment of the 1973 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against Internationally-Protected Persons, so as to incorporate specific enforcement provisions or a supervisory authority to ensure compliance and there should be the expansion of the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court to cover crimes against Internationally-Protected Persons. The following are the contributions to knowledge: the study identified and systematically analysed the practical challenges associated with the enforcement of international legal protections for Internationally-Protected Persons; and the study has proposed an amendment to the 1973 Internationally-Protected Persons Convention to, include enforcement mechanisms and the creation of a supervisory body, that is the Internationally-Protected Persons Authority
Keywords: Crimes, International law, Prevention, Punishment, internationally protected persons