NIGERIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Omoruyi Edoigiawerie, Adebomi Adekeye and Habeeb Eyinade, EandC Legal
The GAID 2025 Mandate (Article 43) This directive specifically addresses decentralised ledgers. It requires data controllers to implement Pri- vacy by Design, meaning that personal data should ideally never be stored on-chain in plain text. The right to be forgotten versus immutability To harmonise the NDPA’s right to erasure with block- chain’s immutability, the Nigerian regulatory standard has moved towards “Off-Chain Storage with On- Chain Hashing”. Under current NDPC guidance, “deletion” is legally satisfied if the decryption keys to a hashed data point are destroyed, or if the personal identifiers are stored in an off-chain database that can be wiped, leaving the immutable hash on the blockchain functionally blind. The NDPC now recognises zero-knowledge proofs (ZKP) as a valid technical measure for achieving data minimisation, allowing firms to verify attributes (such as age or solvency) without ever processing or storing the underlying personal data on a public ledger. 1.1.4 Smart Contracts Smart contracts are enforceable in Nigeria through a sophisticated hybrid application of traditional contract law and the Evidence (Amendment) Act 2023. Rather than viewing them as a separate legal category, the Nigerian judiciary treats smart contracts as electronic contracts, giving them the same legal potency as writ- ten agreements when specific criteria are met. The primary hurdle for enforcement is not the validity of the agreement, but its admissibility. Under Sections 84A–84D of the Evidence Act, Nigeria now formally recognises digital signatures and automated elec- tronic records. The act of signing a transaction with a private key is increasingly recognised as a valid digi- tal signature, fulfilling the statutory requirement for authentication. For a smart contract to be enforced, the proponent must simply demonstrate the integrity of the underlying system; a standard that is inherent- ly supported by the immutable nature of blockchain ledgers.
there is an ongoing strategic shift towards integrating decentralised ledgers with the National Identity Num- ber (NIN) and Bank Verification Number (BVN) frame- works. The objective is to create a “Single Source of Truth” for citizen data, which would theoretically allow for tamper-proof verification in public services, ranging from land registry to future e-voting protocols, although the latter remains in the pre-legislative con- sultative phase. Restricted Regulators maintain a zero-tolerance policy towards unhosted wallets and anonymous P2P platforms that bypass the Travel Rule. The focus is on ensuring that every digital kobo is traceable within the licensed VASP ecosystem. Regulation of Non-Crypto Blockchain Applications In Nigeria, blockchain technology divorced from crypto-assets is governed by a functional regulatory model. If the technology is used for data it falls under NITDA, if for financial rails, under the CBN, and if for securities, under the SEC. The National Blockchain Policy (2023/2026 update) This serves as the jurisdictional blueprint. It mandates that public sector blockchain deployments adhere to strict standards of interoperability and data sover- eignty, ensuring that private ledgers used by regulated firms (eg, for interbank settlement) are compatible with national digital infrastructure. Outsourcing and operational risk Under the CBN Guidelines on Outsourcing (as updat- ed in 2025), regulated financial institutions using blockchain-enabled solutions are required to treat the blockchain protocol as a critical service provider. This necessitates rigorous audit rights, right-to-audit clauses in smart contracts, and clear exit strategies to prevent vendor lock-in. Data Privacy The Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA) 2023, sup- plemented by the General Application and Implemen- tation Directive (GAID) 2025, creates a sophisticated compliance burden for blockchain operators.
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