Nevertheless, according to Vincent Olatunji, the National Commissioner of the NDPC, the CBN’s directive is deemed illegal and in violation of…..
By kelvin Oritsefemi:
The Nigeria Data Protection Commission has stated that the recent directive from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which mandates financial institutions to collect customers’ social media handles, goes against the law. The CBN’s Customer Due Diligence Regulations, 2023, require money deposit banks to gather comprehensive information about customers, including their social media handles, as part of measures to identify and monitor potential risks associated with customer activities.
Nevertheless, according to Vincent Olatunji, the National Commissioner of the NDPC, the CBN’s directive is deemed illegal and in violation of the Nigerian Data Protection Act (NDPA), which was signed into law by President Bola Tinubu on 12 June. The NDPC has released a statement, conveyed by their spokesperson, Itunu Dosekun, stating that they are already in communication with the CBN to address this issue.
“There are provisions in the law to go against any data controller be it private or government office, NGOs, hotels, because we are pro-citizens.
“The whole idea of this law is to protect the rights, the interests of Nigerians who are data subjects.
“We are already engaging with the CBN to let them know that what they have done is against the law because there are basic principles you must meet when you want to collect citizens’ data.
“There is data minimisation, meaning you don’t collect data beyond the purpose for which it was intended, purpose limitation, what purpose is it for,” Mr Olafunji was quoted as saying.
