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NIN: CSO Drags FG To Court

Published

5 years ago

January 31, 2021

Editor

Members of the Edo Civil Society Organizations (EDOCSO) have instituted a suit challenging the Federal Government’s directive that all mobile phone subscribers should link their phone numbers to their National Identification Numbers (NIN).

The suit marked: FHC/B/CS/13/2020 was filed at the Federal High Court, Benin Division, by counsel to the plaintiffs, Dele Igbinedion, Esq.

A copy of the suit which was
made available to Info Daily in Benin named National Identity Management Commission; Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy; Nigeria Communications Commission; Attorney-General of the Federation as 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th defendants respectively.

Others are: Central Bank of Nigeria, 5th defendant; Federal Road Safety Commission, 6th defendant and Nigeria Immigration Service as 7th defendant.

Igbinedion, on behalf of his clients (members of EDOCSO), sought whether the directive that all mobile phone subscribers should link their phone numbers to their NIN is not a breach of his clients’ rights to privacy as guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

He urged the court to declare the directive as breach of his clients’ rights to privacy and should consequently set aside the said directive by the Federal Government.

“A further declaration that the directive by the Defendants that all the plaintiffs should link phone numbers or SIMs to their National Identification Numbers is a breach of the plaintiffs’ right to privacy as guaranteed by Section 37 of the the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

“An order of this Honourable Court setting aside the directive by the Defendants, for being utra vires their powers and therefore unconstitutional, illegal null and of no effect,” he sought.

Igbinedion urged the court to further restraint the Federal Government and its agents from blocking the SIM cards of his clients on the grounds that they failed to link their SIM cards to their NIN.