NCA dragged to court over SIM card re-registration exercise
A private legal practitioner named Francis Kwarteng Arthur, has filed a suit against the National Communications Authority (NCA) along with telecommunication companies in the country.
Lawyer Arthur in the suit against the regulator and the telcos is demanding that the collection of personal data of mobile network subscribers for the re-registration exercise be stopped by the High Court.
Aside seeking an enforcement of his fundamental human rights to administrative justice, to speech, to information and to privacy, the applicant is also seeking an interlocutory injunction to halt the process until the final determination of the case.
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Excerpts from the suit reads as follows;
The NCA (1st Respondent) is sued together with Ghana Telecommunications Company Limited [Vodafone Ghana] (2nd Respondent), Scancom PLC (3rd Respondent), AirtelTigo Ghana Limited (4th Respondent).
The applicant as per his case filed on Monday, November 22, 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”.
The applicant is also seeking 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.
“And 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.”