SERAP sues CBN over directive to banks on customers’ social media handles

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is the target of a lawsuit brought by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) over “the failure to delete the patently unlawful provisions in the Central Bank of Nigeria (Customer Due Diligence) Regulations directing banks to obtain information on customers’ social media handles for the purpose of identification.”

The CBN had issued a Circular last month ordering banks and other financial institutions to execute and adhere to the CBN Regulations’ required restrictions on clients’ social media handles.

In the suit number FHC/L/CS/1410/2023 filed last Friday at the Federal High Court in Lagos, SERAP is seeking: “an order of mandamus to direct and compel the Central Bank of Nigeria to withdraw its directive dated 20th June, 2023 to banks and other financial institutions to obtain information from customers’ social media handles.”

The suit filed on behalf of SERAP by its lawyers, Kolawole Oluwadare and Ms Blessing Ogwuche, 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.”

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“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.”

No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.

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