Justice Y.A Adesanya of the Lagos High Court, has ordered Polaris bank to pay the sum of N1,000,000.00 (One Million Naira) as general damages to its former customer, Mr. Tokunbo Olatokun for violation of his fundamental right to privacy as guaranteed under the constitution and the Nigeria Data Protection Act.
The judgment followed an Originating Summons filed by the Applicant seeking both declaratory and injunctive reliefs against the bank pursuant to the provisions of Order 2 Rules 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules 2009; Sections 37 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999; Sections 24 (1); 27 (1), (3), 36 and 65 of the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023; Article 4, 1(2), (6) of the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation 2019.
The applicant informed the court that as a former customer of the bank he had repeatedly asked the Respondent to stop sending him, emails. A request which the Respondent refused.
In awarding the damages, the court held that Respondent’s repeated unsolicited emails to the Applicant constitutes a violation of his fundamental right to privacy guaranteed by Section 37 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Read more in the judgment below
