President Bola Tinubu has approved the allocation of a property recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) as its new headquarters.

The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, disclosed this on Monday during the commissioning of the facility in Abuja.

Tijani said the decision followed concerns that the NDPC’s expanding responsibilities and growing international profile were not matched by adequate permanent office facilities.

He said President Tinubu directed that the recovered property be allocated to the commission, describing the development as a demonstration of how recovered assets could be converted for productive public use.

According to the minister, an asset recovered on behalf of Nigerians had now been transformed into a facility dedicated to protecting their data and strengthening trust in Nigeria’s digital economy.

Tijani also revealed that the NDPC faced serious funding challenges during its early years, including difficulties meeting salary obligations, before the President provided financial support to enable the agency to stabilise and eventually generate sufficient revenue to sustain its operations.

He noted that Tinubu signed the Nigeria Data Protection Act shortly after assuming office in 2023, giving the commission the legal authority to protect the privacy and personal data of Nigerians.

The minister added that the President subsequently directed ministries, departments and agencies to comply with Nigeria’s data protection laws and regulatory frameworks.

He stressed the need for stronger data protection as the country’s digital economy continues to expand, particularly with the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence.

Speaking at the event, the NDPC National Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer, Vincent Olatunji, said the commission received approval for the property from the EFCC in July 2025, while renovation work commenced in March 2026.

Olatunji described the new headquarters as a major transformation for an agency that began operations with limited office space and inadequate funding.

He recalled that the commission started in February 2022 with about 12 employees and no dedicated funding, noting that he initially used personal funds to support its operations.

According to him, the agency later received N50 million from the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) in September 2022 as its first major funding support.

Olatunji said the commission had since licensed 356 Data Protection Compliance Organisations (DPCOs), with the activities of the commission and the licensed organisations generating more than 27,000 jobs within three years.

He disclosed that the NDPC had generated over N12 billion in revenue within three years, while the country’s data privacy and protection ecosystem had grown to more than N18 billion.

The commissioner further revealed that over 66,000 Nigerians had enrolled in the commission’s Virtual Privacy Academy, while 220 training programmes had reached 99,370 beneficiaries.

He added that the NDPC had established 17 data privacy clubs in universities, created 6,176 student ambassadors and reached more than 250,000 Nigerians through its various engagements.

Olatunji also disclosed that representatives from 17 countries had visited Nigeria in the past two years to learn from the commission, while the NDPC had signed 28 memoranda of understanding with organisations and data protection authorities in countries including Canada, Morocco, Liberia, Kenya and Ghana.

Earlier, the NDPC Head of People Management and Administration, Mrs Watira Fitto, said the new facility reflected the commission’s remarkable growth since its establishment.

Fitto said the headquarters would enhance the commission’s ability to enforce compliance and safeguard the data rights of Nigerians.

She recalled that the NDPC had operated from four different locations within four years, moving from fewer than three office spaces at NITDA to about eight in Maitama and 26 in Asokoro before relocating to the new facility in Mbora District, Abuja.

The new headquarters has about 56 office spaces.

“The new headquarters is a statement of the commission’s growing capacity and commitment to institutional stability,” she said.