The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has been sued by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, over the bank’s recent directive to commercial banks in the country to obtain customers’ social media handles.
The CBN issued the directive to commercial and money banks earlier this month, saying it’s necessary for the purpose of identifying their customers.
What this means, according to those familiar with the apex bank guidelines, is that the CBN wants to be able to monitor bank customers through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social platforms.
Not a few Nigerians have kicked against the directive, citing for instance how it violates their rights to privacy, even though the CBN said the order is in line with the provisions of Section 6 of its Customer Due Diligence Regulations, 2023.
But SERAP in a suit it filed against the apex bank said the directive violates the privacy of customers, and that there’s no legal ground for such.
According to the suit filed at the Federal High court in Lagos, the rights group is seeking an order to direct and compel the CBN to withdraw the directive issued to commercial banks on June 20, 2023.
SERAP is seeking “an order of mandamus to compel the CBN to delete the unlawful provisions of Section 6 of its Customer Due Diligence Regulations, 2023 for being inconsistent with Section 39 of the Nigerian constitution 1999 (as amended) and Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
“An order restraining the CBN from carrying out or giving effect to the unlawful provisions of Section 6 of its Customer Due Diligence Regulations, 2023 directing banks and other financial institutions to obtain information from customers’ social media handles.
“The mandatory requirement of social media handles or addresses of customers does not serve any legitimate aim. Such information may be used to unjustifiably or arbitrarily restrict the rights to freedom of expression and privacy.”
SERAP insists that “unless the reliefs sought are granted, the CBN will implement and enforce the unlawful directive in contravention of citizens’ rights to freedom of expression and privacy.
“There are other means of identification such as passport, driver’s licence, Bank Verification Number (BVN), and Tax Identification Number (TIN), which banks and other financial institutions already require their customers to provide.
“The additional requirement of obtaining details of a customer’s social media handle or address fails to meet the requirements of legality, necessity, and proportionality.
“The facts that there are sufficient means of identification for CBN, banks and other financial institutions to rely on to meet the requirement of Know Your Customer also heighten concerns of overreach, and confer far-reaching discretion on banks and financial institutions.”
The suit filed on behalf of SERAP by its lawyers, Kolawole Oluwadare and Ms. Blessing Ogwuche, also read in part: “Obtaining information on customers’ social media handles or addresses as means of identification is more intrusive than necessary.
“According to Section 6(a) (iv) of the CBN Regulations, banks and other financial institutions ‘shall identify their customer and obtain information on the social media handle of the customer.’ Section 6(b)(iii) contains similar provision.
“The purported mandatory requirement would inhibit Nigerians from freely exercising their human rights online. If obtained, such information may also be misused for political and other unlawful purposes.
“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.
“The requirement of necessity implies an assessment of the proportionality of the grounds, with the aim of ensuring that the excuse of ‘regulations on customer due diligence’ is not used as a pretext to unduly intrude upon the rights to freedom of expression and privacy.
“The CBN regulation does not demonstrate how the use of social media handle or address as a means of identification would serve to improve banks and other financial institutions’ ability to implement and comply with the laws and regulations relating to customer due diligence.
“The directive by the CBN, which does not in any event carry the force of law, also fails to provide any explanation as to how social media handles or addresses can facilitate compliance with regulations relating to customer due diligence.
“Obtaining the details of customers’ social media handles or addresses would unduly interfere with the rights to freedom of expression and privacy. It would also be disproportionate to any purported legitimate aim that the CBN seeks to achieve.”
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