Nigeria’s efforts to strengthen control over its financial data infrastructure are gathering momentum, as the House of Representatives considers a bill proposing the establishment of a National Payment Data Protection and Sovereignty Commission.
The bill proposes penalties of up to 10 years’ imprisonment and a minimum fine of ₦500 million (approximately $371,500) for the unauthorised transfer of payment data outside the country.
Sponsored by Lanre Okunlola, representing Surulere II Federal Constituency in Lagos State, the proposed legislation seeks to classify payment transaction data generated in Nigeria as a strategic national asset.
According to Okunlola, this would require banks, fintech companies, payment service providers and other regulated institutions to maintain their primary payment data infrastructure locally and process domestic transactions through infrastructure physically located in Nigeria.
The proposal builds on an existing regulatory push. In June 2026, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) directed financial institutions and payment operators to store payment transaction data generated in the country locally, with compliance expected by 1 January 2027.
The policy has attracted support from telecommunications industry stakeholders. Gbenga Adebayo, chairman of the Association of Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria, previously argued that Nigeria should take greater responsibility for its data infrastructure.
“We cannot continue to outsource that to other jurisdictions,” he said, adding that local hosting could improve control over data management and reduce the latency and retrieval costs associated with offshore storage.
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