The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has upheld the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) directive requiring banks to include customers’ social media handles as part of their Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements.
This decision came in response to a lawsuit filed by Chris Eke, a Lagos-based lawyer, who sought to prevent the CBN from enforcing this regulation.
Justice Nnamdi Dimgba delivered the ruling, striking down the suit and siding with the CBN’s preliminary objection. The apex bank had argued that the regulation did not infringe on privacy rights, asserting that the inclusion of social media handles was akin to collecting email addresses, phone numbers, and other contact information for due diligence purposes.
In his judgment, Justice Dimgba stated, “The provision of a social media handle is the same as the provision of an email address, phone numbers, and other means by which a potential customer of a bank can be contacted for due diligence, to determine if the person is a fit and proper person for the bank to do business with. As such, the regulation does not amount to an infringement on the right to privacy.“
The judge further emphasized that the purpose of having a social media account is for public visibility and communication, making it unreasonable to consider the CBN’s requirement a breach of privacy. He concluded, “I do not see how this infringes on the right to privacy.”
This ruling clears the path for Nigerian bank customers to submit their social media handles as part of standard banking procedures.
