CONSCIOUS also that the increasing use r:I Information and Communicaflon
Technology (lCT) may be prejudicial to the private and professional life of the
use~;
NOTING that, notwithstanding the existence of the national legislations relating to
the protection of privacy of the citizens in their pr!vate and professional life and
relating to the guarantee of the free movement of information, it becomes a
matter of urgency to fill the legal vacuum generated by the use of internet which
is a new instrument of communication;
CONSCIOUS of the necessity to fill this legal vacuum and establish a
harmonised legel framework in the process of pe~onal data;
DESIROUS of adopflng this Supplementary Act on the protection of personal
data:
AFTER THE OPINION of The ECOWAS Perliament deted 23 May 2009;
ON THE RECOMMENDATION of the Sixty-third Ordinary Session of the CounCil
of Ministers held at Abuja from from 20 to 21 November 2009;
HEREBY AGREE AS FOL.L.OWS:
CHAPTER I
GENERAL. PROVISIONS
Article 1:
Definitions
For the purposes of this Supplementary Act:
Authority of Protection
The data protection authority Shall be an independent administrative authority
responsible for ensuring that personal data is processed in compliance with the
provisions of this Supplementary Act;
Code of conduct refe~ to the data-use charte~ drafted by the data conlloller in
order 10 institute the rightful use of IT resources, the Ir'lternet, and electronic
communications of the structure concerned, and which have been approved by
the data protection Authority;
Consent of the data subject is any manifestation of specific, unequivocal, free,
informed and express will by which the data subject or his legal, judicial or
agreed representative accepts that his personal data be processed either
manually or electronically;
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