Nigeria does not yet have a dedicated artificial intelligence statute, but AI is far from unregulated. AI systems that process personal data are subject to the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 (NDPA). The way AI is trained and what it produces raise intellectual property questions under the Copyright Act 2022. AI used in lending, insurance, healthcare and recruitment falls within sector regulation, consumer protection law and employment law. The government has also published policy work on a national AI strategy, and AI provisions are being considered in proposed digital economy legislation.
Businesses selling AI products abroad face foreign rules too, such as the European Union's AI Act. We help clients understand which rules apply to their AI systems today, design products that are ready for the rules to come, and document their decisions so that they can show regulators, customers and investors that AI is used responsibly.
Who we advise
- AI developers and startups building models, applications and AI-powered products
- Businesses adopting AI in customer service, credit scoring, fraud detection, recruitment, marketing and operations
- Banks, fintechs, insurers and healthcare providers using AI in regulated activities
- Investors carrying out due diligence on AI companies
- Foreign AI providers offering services to users in Nigeria
Data protection and AI
Most AI systems are trained on or process personal data, which brings them within the NDPA. We advise on:
- a lawful basis for collecting and using data to train and run AI systems
- data protection impact assessments for high-risk AI processing
- the right of individuals not to be subject to decisions based solely on automated processing, including profiling, that significantly affect them
- transparency notices explaining how AI is used
- transfers of personal data to AI providers and cloud services outside Nigeria
- sensitive data, such as health and biometric data, and children's data
Intellectual property and AI
- ownership of AI-generated content, designs and code, where Nigerian copyright law is still developing
- the risk of infringement in training data and outputs
- protecting models, datasets and prompts as trade secrets and through contracts
- licensing AI models and datasets; see IP licensing and commercialisation
AI contracts
We draft and negotiate contracts for building, buying and selling AI, including:
- AI development and model licensing agreements
- terms of use for AI products and APIs
- procurement of AI tools, with protections on data use, confidentiality, accuracy and liability; see SaaS and software agreements
- data licensing and data sharing agreements
AI governance and policies
- AI use policies for staff, including the use of public generative AI tools with confidential information
- AI inventories and risk assessments
- governance frameworks setting out who approves AI projects and how they are monitored
- board reporting on AI risk
- alignment with international standards and, for businesses with foreign customers, the EU AI Act
Liability and disputes
When AI gets it wrong, questions arise about who is responsible: the developer, the provider or the business that relied on it. We advise on allocating liability in contracts, consumer protection risks from misleading AI claims, discrimination risks in automated decisions, and disputes arising from AI errors.
Keeping up with AI regulation
AI regulation in Nigeria and elsewhere is changing quickly. We monitor developments, including the national AI strategy, proposed legislation and guidance from the NDPC, NITDA and sector regulators, and help clients adjust their products and policies as the rules evolve.
Our technology lawyers in Lagos and Abuja work alongside product, data and engineering teams. To discuss your AI project, contact us.
