The National Industrial Court of Nigeria, Lagos Judicial Division, has awarded monetary damages against Lafarge Africa Limited over unlawful use of its former employee’s name and contact details years after his employment was terminated.
Delivering judgment on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, in Suit No. NICN/LA/60/2022, Hon. Justice Ikechi Gerald Nweneka held that the cement manufacturing giant violated the claimant’s right to privacy and personal data protection by retaining and using his name and contact details in official purchase orders long after he left the company.
The claimant, Mr. Kehinde Adeniyi Johnson, had approached the court in February 2022 seeking multiple reliefs, including declarations that the company’s actions amounted to unlawful usage, fraudulent misrepresentation, and infliction of emotional distress. He also sought ₦50 million in general and aggravated damages.
Mr. Johnson told the court that although his employment ended in November 2019, he continued to receive calls, emails, and WhatsApp messages from suppliers and dispatchers concerning consignments meant for Lafarge. According to him, his name, personal email address, and telephone number were still listed as the company’s buyer and contact person in purchase orders circulated globally.
The claimant recounted a particularly distressing incident in which he accepted delivery of a shipment from India after being contacted by a dispatcher. He said he was denied access to the company’s premises when he attempted to deliver the consignment and was later attacked by armed robbers. He argued that the continued use of his identity exposed him to risk and caused severe emotional trauma.
Lafarge Africa Plc denied wrongdoing, attributing the situation to a computer system glitch. The company maintained that it had disabled the claimant’s official email and access to its servers upon his exit and had notified suppliers of his disengagement. It further argued that the National Industrial Court lacked jurisdiction over claims bordering on tort and emotional distress.
In resolving preliminary objections, Justice Nweneka dismissed the defendant’s challenge to the admissibility of several exhibits, including emails and WhatsApp chats. While court held that the documents, being communications involving the claimant and company representatives, were not inadmissible hearsay.
On jurisdiction, the court ruled that the matter arose from the employment relationship between the parties and squarely fell within its competence. It further held that the suit was not brought under the Fundamental Rights Enforcement Procedure Rules and therefore was properly before the court.
After reviewing the evidence, Justice Nweneka found that Lafarge continued to use the claimant’s name and telephone number in its purchase orders well after his employment had ceased.
The judge also held that this conduct breached the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023, and Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution guaranteeing the right to privacy.
The court further upheld the claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress, describing the company’s conduct as intolerable and reckless, particularly after it was formally notified by the claimant’s solicitors.
However, the judge declined to grant several other reliefs, including claims relating to human dignity, tortious interference, indemnification, and aggravated damages, holding that they were either not proved or improperly framed.
The judge consequently awarded damages of ₦2million in favour of the claimant, citing statutory limits under the Nigeria Data Protection Act and the need for proportionality.
In addition, the court ordered Lafarge Africa Plc to permanently remove the claimant’s personal data from its servers, applications, and purchase order systems, and to deactivate any pre-generated codes bearing the claimant’s name.
