Your NIN, your BVN and your phone number unlock almost everything in Nigeria, which makes them valuable to anyone who wants to impersonate you. The law protects your data; your habits protect it more.
The law
The Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 governs how organisations collect and use personal data, and created the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) to enforce it. Organisations must:
- collect your data for a stated, lawful purpose, and no more than they need
- keep it secure
- tell you what they hold and why, if you ask
- correct or delete it in the circumstances the Act allows
You can complain to the NDPC if an organisation misuses your data or will not answer you.
Protecting your identifiers
- Your BVN and NIN should only go to banks, government agencies and employers that genuinely need them. Do not post them, or photographs of your NIN slip, online.
- Your phone number is tied to your NIN and your bank accounts. Protect the SIM with a PIN, and if it stops working unexpectedly, call your network at once: SIM swap is how accounts are emptied.
- One-time passwords and PINs are for you alone. No bank, network or government agency will ever ask for them.
Scams in Lagos SIM cards and internet
Loan apps and your contacts
Some lending apps have demanded access to borrowers’ contacts and photos and used them to shame them. Do not grant an app access to your contacts unless you understand why it needs it.
This site
All About Lagos collects as little as it can. What it records, and why, is on its privacy page.