Lagos court says banks can collect customers’ social media handles
Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court in Lagos on Thursday upheld a new Central Bank of Nigeria’s regulation which requires financial institutions to demand and collect the social media handles of their customers as part of the standard Know-Your-Customer procedure.
In the ruling, the judge held that the regulation does not breach bank customers’ right to privacy.
He, therefore, struck out a suit filed by a Lagos-based lawyer, Chris Eke, seeking a declaration that the regulation as contained in Section 6(a)(iv) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (Customer Due Diligence) Regulations, 2023.
In the suit filed before the court, Eke said the new CBN regulation is undemocratic, unconstitutional, and null and void to the extent of its inconsistency with Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
The applicant asked the court to grant an order of perpetual injunction restraining CBN from enforcing the regulation requiring financial institutions to request customers’ social media handles as part of normal bank customer due diligence requirements.
The CBN, in its response to the suit, filed a notice of preliminary objection, challenging the competence of the suit.
The apex bank also disagreed that the regulation, as claimed, interferes with the applicant’s private life.
In his judgment, Justice Dimgba held that the notice of preliminary objection had merit, and he subsequently struck out the suit.
The judge said, “In my view, the provision of a social media handle is the same as the provision of email address, phone numbers and other means by which a potential customer of a bank can be contacted and or due diligence, to determine if the person is a fit and proper person for the bank to do business with, and as such, the regulation does not amount to an infringement on the right to privacy.”
