Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer a technology of the future. Across finance, healthcare, telecommunications, education, insurance, advertising, public administration and health services, organisations are deploying credit-scoring algorithms, fraud-detection tools, automated recruitment systems, clinical decision-support models, recommendation engines, surveillance analytics and generative AI platforms as part of ordinary business operations. For technology companies, AI has moved from a product differentiator to baseline infrastructure.
As governments around the world move toward dedicated AI legislation, a common assumption within Nigeria’s technology and business community is that AI remains largely unregulated in Nigeria until a standalone AI statute is enacted. That assumption is commercially and legally risky. Nigeria may not yet have a dedicated AI Act, but AI systems that process personal data, profile individuals, make or support consequential decisions, or affect the privacy rights of data subjects in Nigeria are already subject to binding obligations under Nigeria’s data protection framework.