A Private legal practitioner Francis Kwarteng Arthur has dragged the National Communications Authority (NCA) and operators of telecommunication services in the country to court over the re-registration of SIM cards.
The Applicant is praying to the High Court to stop the collection of personal data of subscribers for the re-registration exercise.
According to the writ, “Aside from 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”.
The NCA (1st Respondent) is sued together with Ghana Telecommunications Company Limited, (2nd Respondent), Scancom PLC (3rd Respondent), AIRTELTIGO Ghana Limited (4th Respondent) while the Attorney General was put on notice.
The Legal Practitioner, per his case filed on Monday, November 22, 2021 is asking the court to “make an order directing at the 1st 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”.
Also, he is seeking the court to “make an order of mandatory injunction 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 or other biometric data or particulars and 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”.
BY Daniel Bampoe