Nigeria: Over 50% of Financial Industry Ready for Data Localisation - CBN

What the report says

Nigeria’s central bank says more than half of the country’s financial industry is already prepared to meet data localisation rules, as regulators press ahead with efforts to keep payment and transaction data within Nigeria. The remarks were made by Dr. Rakyat Yusuf, director of the CBN’s Payment System Supervision Department, at a joint CBN-NITDA regulatory dialogue in Lagos on the National Sovereign Cloud Initiative and data localisation, according to Vanguard, which was distributed by AllAfrica.

Yusuf said a CBN survey indicated broad readiness across the sector and suggested that the remaining institutions could comply after receiving further guidance. She said the central bank expects full alignment by January 2027 and framed the policy as part of protecting Nigeria’s digital sovereignty, improving visibility over transaction data and supporting financial stability. The CBN also signaled that it prefers to help institutions reach compliance before moving to penalties, while warning that sanctions would apply where non-compliance appears deliberate.

Other speakers at the event stressed that Nigeria should strengthen control over critical digital infrastructure without cutting itself off from global technology. CBN deputy governor Lamido Yuguda said the aim is to support security, resilience and regulatory certainty while still encouraging innovation and investment. NITDA Director-General Kashifu Abdullahi said the local tech ecosystem has the capacity to support the initiative and argued that digital sovereignty means building national capability and reducing reliance on a single vendor or external disruption. The discussion matters because it affects how banks and payment systems manage data, infrastructure and risk in a more digital financial sector.