The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has taken legal action against the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for failing to stop its regulation that requires banks to obtain the social media handles of their customers.
This was announced by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, in a statement released on Sunday.
Recall that In June, the Central Bank of Nigeria issued a regulation requiring banks to collect information about their customers’ social media accounts for identification purposes.
But, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) last Friday filed a lawsuit numbered FHC/L/CS/1410/2023 at Lagos Federal High Court asking the court to force CBN to rescind the regulation.
SERAP argues that such a requirement does not serve any legitimate aim and may be used to restrict citizens’ rights to freedom of expression and privacy. The organisation believes that without the relief sought, the CBN will enforce the unlawful directive, which will be a violation of citizens’ rights.
According to SERAP, the CBN already has ample means to verify customers including Bank Verification Number, Tax Identification Number, Driver’s licence, and Passport.
They added that implementing the regulation would impede on the rights to freedom of expression and privacy of banks’ customers.
“The CBN Regulations and directive to banks and other financial institutions would impermissibly restrict the constitutional and international rights to freedom of expression, privacy and victims’ right to justice and effective remedies.
“Requiring social media handles or addresses of customers as a means of identification would have a disproportionate chilling effect on the effective enjoyment by Nigerians of their rights to freedom of expression and privacy online.”
Meanwhile, No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.