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‘Withdraw Regulations On Customers’ Social Media Handles Or Face Legal Action’, SERAP Tells CBN

Published

2 years ago

June 25, 2023

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged Mr Folashodun Shonubi, Acting Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to “immediately 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.”

SERAP also urged him to “withdraw the Circular number FPR/DIR/PUB/CIR/007/076 of 20 June 2023 mandating banks and other financial institutions to implement and comply with the unlawful mandatory provisions on customers’ social media handles in the CBN Regulations.”

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.

In the letter dated 24 June 2023 and signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said: “The CBN Regulations and directive to banks to obtain details of customers’ social media address violate Nigerians’ rights to freedom of expression and privacy. It is inconsistent and incompatible with the rule of law.”

SERAP said, “The CBN ought to contribute to the advancement of respect for the rule of law and human rights in the discharge of its statutory functions, and not undermine or violate these fundamental legal requirements and standards.”

According to SERAP, “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 letter, read in part: “We would be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within 3 days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall take all appropriate legal actions to compel you and the CBN to comply with our request in the public interest.”

“The mandatory requirement of social media handles or addresses of customers does not serve any legitimate aim. Such information may be used to unjustifiably or arbitrarily to restrict the rights to freedom of expression and privacy.”

“SERAP is gravely concerned that 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 CBN bears the burden of justifying any restriction on people’s freedom of expression and privacy. Under the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended] and human rights treaties to which the country is a state party, any restrictions on these rights must be applied strictly so that the rights are not put in jeopardy.”

“There are other means of identification such as passport, driver’s licence, Bank Verification Number (BVN), and Tax Identification Number (TIN), which banks and other financial institutions already require their customers to provide.”

“The additional requirement of obtaining details of a customer’s social media handle or address fails to meet the requirements of legality, necessity, and proportionality.”

“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.”

“The Directive by the CBN, which does not in any event carry the force of law, also fails to provide any explanation as to how social media handles or addresses can facilitate compliance with regulations relating to customer due diligence.”

“Obtaining the details of customers’ social media handles or addresses would unduly interfere with the rights to freedom of expression and privacy. It would also be disproportionate to any purported legitimate aim that the CBN seeks to achieve.”

“The facts that there are sufficient means of identification for CBN, banks and other financial institutions to rely on to meet the requirement of Know Your Customer also heighten concerns of overreach, and confer far-reaching discretion on banks and financial institutions.”

“Obtaining information on customers’ social media handles or addresses as means of identification is therefore more intrusive than necessary.”

“The cumulative effect of any attempt to access details of customers’ social media handles or addresses would be to undermine the letter, substance and spirit of the rights to freedom of expression and privacy of Nigerians.”

“The effective enjoyment of these fundamental rights constitutes a fundamental pillar for building a democratic society and strengthening democracy.”

“The CBN fails to show how details of customers’ social media handles or addresses would assist banks and other financial institutions to effectively implement and comply with the laws and regulations relating to customer due diligence.”

“Human rights, the rule of law and democracy are interlinked and mutually reinforcing and central to the universal and indivisible core values and principles of the United Nations, the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States to which Nigeria belongs.”

“The CBN is bound to respect the constitutional and international human rights of Nigerians including the rights to freedom of expression and privacy.”

“Under the principle of pacta sunt servanda and general principles governing the law of treaties, the CBN is also bound to uphold and apply in the discharge of its statutory functions the human rights treaties to which Nigeria is a state party.”

“Indeed, under international human rights law, all public or governmental institutions including the CBN are in a position to engage the responsibility of the State.”

“The positive obligations on Nigeria to ensure the rights to freedom of expression and privacy will only be fully discharged if individuals are protected against violations by institutions like the CBN.”

“The Nigerian Constitution guarantees in Section 39 the right to freedom of expression and in Section 37, the right to privacy.”

“Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights also guarantee the right to freedom of expression. Article 17 of the Covenant also guarantees the right to privacy.”

“Freedom of expression and opinion are indispensable conditions for the advancement of any person or society, as the free exercise of the right facilitates the evolution and exchange of opinions, in turn enabling principles of transparency and accountability crucial for the promotion and protection of human rights.”

“While under certain narrow circumstances, a State may restrict the right to freedom of expression, any such restrictions must be strictly limited and meet the conditions of legality (i.e. be “provided by law”), legitimate purpose, necessity, and proportionality. The CBN Regulations mandating social media handle or address as a form of identification for customers fail to meet these legal requirements.”

“In particular, Article 19(1) of the Covenant establishes the right to freedom of opinion without interference. Article 19(2) establishes Nigeria’s obligations to respect and ensure ‘the right to freedom of expression,’ which includes the freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers.”

“Under article 19(3), restrictions on the right to freedom of expression must be ‘provided by law’, and necessary ‘for respect of the rights or reputations of others’ or ‘for the protection of national security or of public order (ordre public), or of public health and morals.”

“The principles of legality, necessity, and proportionality, apply to the right to privacy in the same manner as they do to freedom of expression and other fundamental freedoms.”

“Restrictions to the rights to freedom of expression and privacy that do not comply with the elements of legality, legitimate purpose, and necessity and proportionality shall be deemed unlawful.”
VANGUARD

News

Reps Raise Alarm Over N1.65trn In PIA Funds Denied To N’Delta

Published

6 hours ago

November 28, 2025

Editor

The House of Representatives Committee on South South Development Commission (SSDC) has raised alarm over Nigeria’s failure to implement two key Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) funds, saying it has denied the Niger Delta an estimated N1.65 trillion earmarked for environmental cleanup and decommissioning of obsolete oil facilities since 2021.

Chairman of the committee, Hon. Julius Gbabojör Pondi, disclosed this on Tuesday during an interactive session at the National Assembly, which examined the continued dormancy of the Abandonment and Decommissioning Fund and the Environmental Remediation Fund, both mandated under the PIA.

The session brought together representatives from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), SSDC, and the supervising Ministries of Petroleum and Environment, with the aim of establishing a coordinated framework to activate the funds.

According to Pondi, the data presented to the committee indicate that the Abandonment and Decommissioning Fund should have accrued between N850 billion and N1.1 trillion, while the Environmental Remediation Fund should have amassed between N420 billion and N550 billion if properly operationalised since 2021.

He described the delay as a serious breach of environmental justice and a threat to sustainable development in the Niger Delta, noting that the funds were intended to hold oil and gas companies fully accountable for decommissioning outdated infrastructure and rehabilitating degraded ecosystems.

“These funds were created to prevent the shifting of environmental liabilities to local communities. Yet, four years after the enactment of the PIA, they remain dormant, leaving farmlands polluted, rivers contaminated, fisheries depleted, and communities exposed to health hazards,” Pondi said.

The lawmaker criticised the lack of transparency and operational progress from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), calling it a demonstration of institutional incapacity.

He warned that continued failures could prompt the creation of a new dedicated agency to ensure proper administration of the funds.

Pondi reaffirmed the committee’s commitment to oversight and insisted that legislative instruments must deliver tangible benefits to host communities.

“The National Assembly cannot continue to look away while environmental liabilities multiply and communities suffer. The era of shifting cleanup responsibilities to impoverished communities must end,” he said.

In other news, drama erupted on the floor of the House of Representatives on Tuesday as the Chairman, House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream), Alhassan Ado-Doguwa, launched a stinging critique of President Bola Tinubu’s administration over the worsening insecurity across the country.

He declared that Parliament should be shut down if the government fails to restore order and peace in volatile areas.

Doguwa, who spoke during a special plenary session convened to review Nigeria’s national security situation, said the nation was engaged in a full-scale war against humanity, insisting that the government’s best efforts were no longer sufficient.

While acknowledging ongoing operations by security agencies, the former Majority Leader said President Tinubu’s government had fallen short of its constitutional responsibility to protect lives and property, especially in the North, where he described the situation as devastating, unspeakable and tragically unbearable.

He warned that the deepening security crisis marked by banditry, kidnappings, terrorism and attacks on communities risked derailing political stability ahead of the 2027 general elections, arguing that there was now a “calculated attempt to demoralise the Nigerian state.”

“Mr. Speaker, I am therefore prepared to say that no matter what the government does—my government, led by Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the APC government, my party and despite all the submissions and efforts of the security agencies through their respective chairmen, I want to say that yes, the government is doing its best, the security agencies are doing their best, but with every sense of responsibility and without any fear of equivocation, their best is not good enough.

“It is not good enough because the security situation in Nigeria today is horrific. Mr. Speaker, our security situation is tragic. The situation, especially in the North where I come from, is devastating.

“Our security situation in Nigeria today is unspeakable. It is unspeakable because our people are left ravaged in tension, fear, and despair, all because we are lacking in institutional and collective responsibility as a government. Mr. Speaker, the fact remains the same.

“I like that everyone of you here says that the responsibility of every democratic or elected government or military governments is fundamentally the security of the lives and property of its own people.

“Mr. Speaker, what we have today is like a failed security system. In my opinion, it is like, to quote the popular Bob Marley in his song from the 1980s, when he was saying: war in the North, war in the West, war in the East, and war down South.”
(GUARDIAN)

News

FG Enlists NYSC Members In Campaign To Fight Small Arms, Light Weapons Proliferation In Northeast

Published

7 hours ago

November 28, 2025

Editor

The Federal Government has charged the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members across the Northeast sub-region to play an active role in curbing the spread of Small Arms and Light Weapons, SALW, across the region.

Northeast Zonal Director of the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons, (NCCSALW) under the Office of the National Security Adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Maj.-Gen. Abubakar Adamu (Rtd), gave the charge yesterday at the NYSC Orientation Camps in Potiskum, Yobe state and Maiduguri, Borno state.

Maj:-Gen Adamu (Rtd), represented by Mr. Aminu Saleh Mohammed, Assistant Director of Strategic Communication and Information of the Centre, said the active involvement of youth, especially corps members, would significantly help to tackle insecurity.

He explained that the NCCSALW, established in 2021 under the Office of the National Security Adviser, serves as the institutional framework for regulating and controlling Small Arms and Light Weapons in Nigeria.

While sensitizing the corps members on camp in Yobe state on the dangers of the proliferation of arms and weapons on the society, the Zonal Director said such weapons fuels banditry, kidnapping, cultism, political thuggery, insurgency and other crimes.

“When you get to your places of primary assignment, be good ambassadors of your parents, NYSC, your state and yourself by reporting anyone in possession or involved in the fabrication of small arms and light weapons,” he urged.

According to him, Small Arms and Light Weapons hinders development, increases black marketers of arms and ammunition, causes undue exposure of young people to armed-violence, heightens transborder insecurity, create fears in the minds of the people and many other vices in the society.

He called on all parents and guardians to take full responsibility of good child upbringing in all ramification, educate children on tolerance and peaceful co-existence and warn against violence.

He advised them to also observe and closely monitor behavioral changes for prompt correction.

Similarly, at the NYSC Orientation camp in Maiduguri, the Centre’s Northeast boss called on scholars and clergymen to teach and sensitize their congregations on the dangers of proliferation of SALW, tolerance and peaceful co-existence.

“They should caution their congregation against the use of illicit SALW, facilitate reconciliation among extremists and victims for successful reintegration and surrendering,” he said.

He also called on the Northeast Coordinators of NYSC to partner with the Centre to establish a Small Arms and Light Weapons Community Development Service (CDS) group in the states, similar to one already operational in Borno.

In their separate reactions, the NYSC Coordinators in Yobe and Borno states, Mr. Edison Ohuoha and Mallam Nasir Bello, welcomed the proposal, assuring that efforts would be made to set up the CDS group to support the campaign.

They promised to work closely with the Centre in order to fight and eradicate the proliferation of illicit small arms and light weapons within the region by carrying out sensitization in strategic locations.

News

Coup: ECOWAS Suspends Guinea-Bissau

Published

8 hours ago

November 28, 2025

Editor

The Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, has suspended Guinea-Bissau from all its decision-making bodies following the military takeover in the country.

The suspension was announced after an emergency virtual meeting of the ECOWAS Mediation and Security Council, MSC, late Thursday.

The session was chaired by Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio, who also leads the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government.

In its communiqué, the MSC said the decision was taken in line with the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance (2001), stressing that Guinea-Bissau would remain suspended until full and effective constitutional order is restored.

The coup unfolded on Wednesday, barely three days after the country’s contentious presidential and legislative elections.

The mutinous officers halted the electoral process, shut the nation’s borders and stopped the release of official results.

ECOWAS strongly condemned the takeover, describing the detention of several individuals, including incumbent President Umaro Sissoco Embaló, widely projected to win the election, as unacceptable.

“The MSC condemns in the strongest terms the coup d’état perpetrated on 26 November 2025 and calls for the immediate restoration of constitutional order,” the statement read.

It also rejected any arrangement that would legitimise the disruption of the democratic process or undermine the will of the people of Guinea-Bissau.

The regional bloc demanded the prompt release of all detained political actors, including President Embaló, electoral officials, and other arrested figures.

ECOWAS also insisted that the electoral commission be allowed to announce the results of Sunday’s vote without interference.

Despite regional pressure, the coup leaders have named the army’s chief of staff, General Horta N’Tam, as transitional head of state for a one-year period.