Data Protection Commission Slams N555.8m Fine on Fidelity Bank over Data Breach

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The National Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has fined Fidelity Bank N555.8 million for violating the National Data Protection Act (NDP Act) and the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR).

According to NDPC’s National Commissioner, Vincent Olatunji, “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 explained that the commission’s approach is to create awareness and encourage cooperation, but in this case, Fidelity Bank’s “arrogance and poor cooperation during our investigation” led to the maximum penalty.

The fine, equivalent to 0.1% of Fidelity Bank’s annual gross revenue in 2023, is the highest issued by the commission to date. Olatunji emphasized, “We have observed serious breaches and we have been working with them, investigating the issue since April 2023. But by the time we finalized our findings, they became arrogant and we decided to issue a full penalty on them.”

This move signals a tough stance by the NDPC on data protection non-compliance, serving as a warning to organizations to prioritize data protection or face severe consequences.

StreetReporters.ng

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