Nigerians, especially low-income earners have suffered financial difficulties due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has driven them to seek loans from digital money lenders. In exchange for these loans, these digital lending platforms/companies require access to personal data such as bank verification numbers and access to the user’s gallery, contacts, and location. They violate the customer’s right by publishing their personal data to third parties when they default on the loan repayment.
The dissertation will focus on digital money lending and its regulation in Nigeria, examining data privacy issues and providing suggestions for balancing the benefits of money lending and the protection of consumers’ data privacy rights. The dissertation will use a variety of primary and secondary sources to determine the extent to which digital money lenders breach consumers’ privacy rights and the effectiveness of the law in protecting Nigerians. The Nigerian Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) is the only law that specifically addresses digital money lending in Nigeria. However, the study finds it ineffective in protecting digital money borrowers. Similarly, although action for data breaches can be maintained under the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria, the dissertation also finds it ineffective in protecting borrowers in practice. The dissertation recommends that the government must take stringent measures to monitor and restrict the unethical practices of these lending platforms. Also, legislation that is specific to digital money lending must be enacted to regulate the menace of these platforms and providing the victims with access to legal representation by non- profit organizations.
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