A source from the commission revealed to The Punch, that a good number of online lenders also referred to as loan sharks, were under the radar of the commission and will be scrutinised before they are given any form of approval to commence operations.
Apart from online lenders, the NDPC has also set its sights on the data controllers of some leading new-generation banks, insurance companies and some Nigerian universities as about 400 complaints have been lodged by customers over the period.
The commission also said government-owned institutions were not left out as it would not fail to prosecute heads of any government agency found guilty of data breaches.
The fresh investigations into some data controllers of the affected institutions come amid the recent signing of the Data Protection Act 2023 which places a fine of two per cent of the gross revenue of any company found guilty of data violation.
Added to the 2% annual gross profit fine stipulated in Part 10, section 48 of the Data Protection Act 2023, there is also a fine of ₦10 million for data controllers of major importance and ₦2 million for data controllers of minor importance.
Offenders also risk a jail term of up to one year added to the monetary fine. According to a report by The Punch, the Nigerian Data Protection Regulation Performance Report 2020-2021 shows about 1,350 calls were made by angry Nigerians who reported data breaches in 2021.
Recall the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, FCCPC, has been in a running battle with online lenders due to data violation reports by customers.
With the NDPC tasked with enforcing privacy compliance and granting the final approval for operations, most of the defaulting loan apps have either lost their operational licences or have been removed from the Google Play Store.