A private legal practitioner has dragged the National Communications Authority (NCA) and owners of three telecommunication service providers in the country to court over the ongoing SIM re-registration exercise.
In his lawsuit, Lawyer Francis Kwarteng Arthur is praying the High Court to stop the collection of personal data of subscribers for the purposes of SIM re-registration, saying it is a violation of his fundamental human right.
Aside seeking an enforcement of his fundamental human rights to administrative justice, speech, information and privacy, the applicant is also seeking an interlocutory injunction to halt the process until the final determination of his case.
The NCA (1st Respondent) is sued together with Ghana Telecommunications Company Limited (Vodafone – 2nd Respondent), Scancom PLC (MTN – 3rd Respondent), AirtelTigo Ghana Limited (4th Respondent), and the Attorney General has been put on notice.
The applicant, as per his case filed on Monday, November 23, 2021, is asking the court to “make an order directing at the 1st Respondent/Respondent to suspend its notice to Mobile network operators directing, instructing or requesting them to procure, store or use the Applicant’s personal information (including the fingerprint of other subscribers), pending the determination of the issues in the originating motion on notice”.
He is also asking the court to “make an order of mandatory injunction firecrest at the 2nd Respondent/Respondent, the 3rd Respondent/Respondent, the 4th Respondent/Respondent to suspend the collection, storage or use of the Applicant’s personal information including his fingerprint, iris or facial pattern record or other biometric data or particulars and of other subscribers, pending the determination of the issues on the originating motion on notice.
“Any order that the honorable court may deem fit under the circumstances for the protection of the fundamental human rights and freedom of the public at large.”
