The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been told to stop the implementation of its directive that banks should request for customers’ social media handles as a further requirement for identification.
The decision was contained in a resolution of the House, following a motion sponsored by nine members.
Contained in the CBN Customer Due Diligence Regulations 2023, is the position that the inclusion of social media handles on “Know Your Customer” would promote compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing provisions.
The House of Representatives said it was concerned that deploying social media handles as a means of identification, would lead to the exclusion of persons who did not subscribe to social media, from Nigeria’s banking system.
The House said it was particularly concerned that millions of Nigerians, especially the aged, the illiterate, semi-literate, the otherwise challenged as well as rural dwellers without access to internet, interest, or capacity for social media engagement, would be subjected to untold hardship, or shut out completely, if the directive was allowed to be effected.
The House of Representatives further said it would investigate allegations of excess charges and illegal deductions on customer accounts by commercial banks.
