Rickey Tarfa sues MTN, EFCC, Falana, others for N5bn

Embattled Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Rickey Tarfa, has filed a fresh fundamental rights enforcement suit against telecommunications company, MTN Nigeria Communications Limited, for the alleged violation of his right to privacy.

Tarfa is seeking a court declaration that his right to privacy was violated when the call records/log on his phone with mobile number 08034600000 was allegedly accessed without his authority and made available to our source and other online news media without any reasonable cause or a lawful court order.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had on February 5 arrested Tarfa and confiscated his two mobile phones and his Mercedez Benz SUV with Registration No. KJA 700 CG, on the allegation that Tarfa hid two alleged suspects of economic and financial crimes in his car to prevent their arrest.

Joined as respondents in Tarfa’s second fundamental rights enforcement suit are the EFCC, its Chairman, Ibrahim Magu, Mrs. Rashidatou Abdou and Mr. Femi Falana (SAN).

Among other reliefs, Tarfa is urging the court to hold that it was unlawful for his iPhone 6 with mobile number 08034600000 to have been used in calling one Alhaji Ado in Kaduna on mobile number 08061272929 on February 9, 2016 while the said phone was with Magu and the EFCC without any reasonable cause or any court order.

He is also urging the court to hold that it was unlawful for the EFCC to access his bank details, clients information, private and confidential information contained in his iPhone 6 with number 08034600000 and Samsung 6 phone with number 08077341616 without any reasonable cause or any court order.

He is urging the court to order the respondents to pay him N5bn for the alleged violation of his rights.

The suit was backed with a 134-paragraph affidavit, wherein Tarfa chronicled how the relationship between his client, Ghanhoue Nazaire, and the 3rd respondent, Mrs. Rashidatou Abdou, broke down in 2011 leading to the filing of a suit for the winding down of their company, Rana Prestige Industries Nigeria Limited.