A lawyer, Tolulope Idowu has taken legal action against the three presidential candidates in the just concluded Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) general election alleging significant breach of privacy his rights and improper handling of his personal data.
The suit with No: FHC/IB/CS/79/24 brought by Originating Summons at the Federal High Court, Ibadan has the three Presidential candidates in the NBA election as the Respondents.
The Applicant’s claims bother on his receipt of unsolicited campaign emails and SMS messages from the presidential candidates during the electioneering campaign.
His claims are as follows:
A declaration that the Respondents’ actions in sending personally customised unsolicited messages to the Applicants’ email address and phone number without any lawful basis is contrary to Section 25 of the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 and thereby interfered with the Applicant’s right to privacy guaranteed by Section 37 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (As amended).
A declaration that the Respondents’ processing of the Applicant’s personal data by sending of personally customised unsolicited messages to his email address and phone number is unfair, unethical, illegal and lacks transparency contrary to Section 24(1)(a) of the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 and thereby interfered with the Applicant’s right to privacy guaranteed under section 37 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (As amended).
Perpetual injunction restraining the Respondents from further processing (storing and using) the Applicant’s name, email address and telephone number without a lawful basis.
The Applicant argues that the candidates violated his privacy rights under Nigerian law, specifically under the Nigerian Data Protection Act (NDPA) which require consent and other legal bases for the processing of personal data.
According to the Applicant, “he has been inundated with unsolicited campaign materials from various candidates seeking office in the NBA. This not only breaches his right to privacy but also raises serious concerns about the legal basis on which these candidates are processing personal information.”
No date has been assigned to the suit.