A High Court of Lagos State has ordered Polaris Bank to pay N1 million in damages to a customer, Mr. Tokunbo Olatokun, for repeatedly sending him unsolicited emails in violation of his fundamental right to privacy.
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Justice Yetunde A. Adesanya, in her judgment delivered on December 5, 2024, held that Polaris Bank breached Sections 34 and 36 of the Nigeria Data Protection Act by continuing to send marketing emails to Mr. Olatokun even after he expressly requested the bank to stop and to expunge his personal information from their database.
The court declared that the bank’s repeated unsolicited emails to Mr. Olatokun constituted a violation of his right to privacy guaranteed under Section 37 of the Constitution. It also issued a perpetual injunction restraining Polaris Bank from sending any further unsolicited messages to the customer.
Mr. Olatokun had provided evidence that despite his clear written instructions in April 2024 for the bank to close his account and cease all email communications, Polaris Bank persisted in sending him marketing messages advertising various products for about four months.
The court rejected the bank’s argument that the unsolicited emails were permissible under Central Bank guidelines. Justice Adesanya ruled that CBN guidelines cannot override the customer’s express instructions and his rights under the Nigerian Constitution and Data Protection Act.
The judge awarded N1 million in general damages to Mr. Olatokun for the emotional and mental distress caused by the unsolicited messages, after considering the four-month duration of the breach and its impact on the customer. However, the court did not find the bank’s privacy policy to be deficient.
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