Lawyer Institutes N5 Billion Lawsuit Against MTN, EFCC, Others for Alleged Violation of Privacy

Rickey Tarfa, a Senior Nigerian lawyer has sued a Mobile Telecommunication Company, MTN Nigeria Communications, for violating his Right to Privacy.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria, who is claiming five billion Naira in damages, also sued the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), its boss, Ibrahim Magu, one Mrs Rashidatou Abdou and a prominent legal practitioner, Femi Falana.

The suit is yet to be assigned to a judge.

In an application brought pursuant to section 37 of the Nigerian constitution, Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights Cap 10, Mr Tarfa asked the court to make an order declaring that the unauthorised act of using his iPhone 6 in calling one Ado in Kaduna on February 9 while the said phone was with Magu and the agency without any reasonable cause or any court order.

Specifically, the applicant asked the court to declare that the unauthorised act of accessing his bank details, clients information, private and confidential information contained in his iPhone 6 and Samsung 6 phone by EFCC and Magu without any reasonable cause or any court order was unlawful, wrongful, illegal and a gross violation of his fundamental rights.

Mr Rickey Tarfa also asked the court to declare that the unauthorised act of accessing the phone call records/call log of his phone by the respondents and forwarding same to Sahara Reporters and other online news agencies without any reasonable cause, or any court order was also a violation of his rights under the constitution.