The Abuja division of the Federal High Court has upheld a regulation allowing the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to collect customers’ social media information as part of the Know-Your-Customer (KYC) protocol.
Chris Eke filed a suit against Section 6(a)(iv) of the CBN Regulations, which he claimed violated Nigerians’ privacy, but Justice Nnamdi Dimgba dismissed it on Thursday.
The judge ruled against Eke, saying he could not fathom how gathering information that customers themselves made public could be considered a breach of privacy.
“I should even say that the essence of having a social media account was for one to be publicly visible communication-wise,” Dimgba said while outlining points that made him strike out the suit.
“It, therefore, appears quite ironic, though wryly, that one can suggest that asking for information about a social media handle with which the individual exposes and immerses himself or herself in the public can amount to a violation of privacy rights, whose rights themselves are all about the isolation of one from public glare.”
The judge said it was public knowledge that some entities require social media handles for candidates filing applications.
According to him, if the requirement was not considered a violation of privacy in that instance, it shouldn’t still matter in the case of CBN.
“It is also to my knowledge that even in filling out some business applications, personal information of this sort is sometimes requested, and parties generally oblige. If it does not constitute a breach of privacy, why should it now?” Dimgba queried.
He advised that customers who found such social media handling requirements intrusive could decide not to bank with the financial institution in question and look for other options.
Potential customers can “refuse to do business with any bank, insisting on the information as part of its social media handle, but to seek other alternatives.”
Dimgba, in his opinion, said that it “would be highly unreasonable to hold the respondent (CBN) in breach of privacy for what other persons have access to.”
The judge described Eke’s fear that his social interactions would be monitored as speculative and “rather incredulous to believe that the financial institutions have the luxury of time to concern themselves with such frivolities.”
