&w=64&q=75)
The National Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has fined Fidelity Bank a record ₦555.8 million for violating customer data protection laws.
The fine, announced by the National Commissioner, Vincent Olatunji, at a workshop in Abuja, marks the largest penalty ever issued by the NDPC.
According to Punch, Olatunji disclosed that the tier-one bank breached the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023, and the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation, 2019, leading to the hefty fine, representing 0.1% of the bank's annual gross revenue for 2023.
The commissioner emphasised the importance of data protection compliance, warning that non-compliance would be met with severe penalties.
"Data protection compliance is important, and we have stated that non-compliance will be punished. We have penalties that range from N10m or up to two per cent of gross earnings for the previous year," Olatunji said.
He further explained that the bank's poor cooperation during the investigation aggravated the penalty.
"We have observed serious breaches and 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," Olatunji added.