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The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has taken legal action against the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for failing to remove unlawful provisions in the Central Bank of Nigeria (Customer Due Diligence) Regulations. These provisions instruct banks to collect customers’ social media handles for identification purposes.
After issuing a 3-day ultimatum for the apex bank to withdraw the regulations or face legal consequences, SERAP has filed a lawsuit (suit number FHC/L/CS/1410/2023) at the Federal High Court in Lagos. The organization seeks an order of mandamus to compel the CBN to withdraw its directive, delete the unlawful provisions, and restrain the CBN from enforcing the social media handling regulations.
SERAP argues that the mandatory requirement of social media handles for customer identification lacks legitimate purpose and raises concerns about privacy and freedom of expression. The group highlights that there are already sufficient means of identification, such as passports, driver’s licenses, Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs), and Tax Identification Numbers (TINs), that banks require from customers.
Furthermore, SERAP asserts that obtaining social media handles for identification is intrusive and may be misused for unlawful purposes, potentially inhibiting Nigerians’ exercise of their online human rights. The organization argues that the regulations impose disproportionate restrictions on freedom of expression and privacy and do not demonstrate how social media handles would facilitate compliance with customer due diligence regulations.
The Nigerian Constitution guarantees the right to freedom of expression and privacy, and SERAP stresses that restrictions must comply with principles of legality, legitimate purpose, and necessity and proportionality to be lawful.
The lawsuit seeks to safeguard Nigerians’ fundamental rights and ensure that institutions like the CBN do not violate these rights. However, the hearing date for the suit is yet to be fixed.
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