The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has made it mandatory for financial institutions to obtain the social media handles of their customers for identification in a move aimed at curbing money laundering and terrorism financing.
The new directive is contained in its Customer Due Diligence Regulations, 2023 published on June 20, and circulated to all banks and financial institutions.
Under the new regulations, financial institutions must identify customers – whether permanent or occasional, individuals or legal entities – and obtain specific pieces of information.
Individuals are to provide their legal name and any other names used (such as maiden name), permanent address, residential address, telephone number, e-mail address and social media handle, date and place of birth, Bank Verification Number, BVN, Tax Identification Number, TIN, nationality.
Other information to be provided include the customer’s occupation, public position held and name of employer, and an official personal identification number or a valid government-issued identity card such as a passport, national identification card, residence permit, social security records or driver’s license, type of account and nature of the banking relationship, signature, and their politically exposed persons, PEPs, status.
Similarly, businesses must provide the following: name of institution, mailing address, e-mail and social media address, phone numbers, registration number, registered address, business address, valid identification, such as tax identification number, nature and purpose of business or activities, and the certified true copy of documentary evidence confirming legal existence such as a certificate of incorporation, among others.
The apex bank also instructed financial institutions to verify the identities of customers using reliable, independent source documents, data or information (identification data).
For individuals, this involves confirming the date of birth by checking an official document; residential address by a physical visitation; contact details through a phone call, email or letter; and the validity of official documents.
In the case of business organisations, financial institutions are required to undertake searches on public registries or databases, review annual reports or relevant financial statements, and examine board resolutions.
The CBN explained that the two-fold objectives of the regulation are to “provide additional customer due diligence measures for financial institutions under the regulatory purview of the Central Bank of Nigeria” and to “enable the CBN to enforce compliance with customer due diligence measures in line with the CBN Anti-Money Laundering, AML; Combating the Financing of Terrorism, CFT; and Countering Proliferation Financing of Weapons of Mass Destruction in
Financial Institutions, CPF, Regulations, 2022 and international best practices.”
- DSS Raises Alarm Over Fake Operatives After Sacking 115 Officers - November 5, 2025
- Tinubu Counters CPC Tag, Says Nigeria Protects All Faiths Equally - November 2, 2025
- Trump Labels Nigeria “Country of Particular Concern” Over Christian Persecution - November 1, 2025