A Nigerian lawyer emphasized the legal implications of sharing screenshots from private chats without the consent of the other party. According to the lawyer, this action is deemed illegal under section 37 of the Nigerian constitution, which discourages the sharing of conversation screenshots without proper consent.
According to him, this is an act of violation against a person’s privacy.
‘’Do you know that unless somebody grants you his consent, you don’t have the right to screenshot your chats with any other person on your DM and post it on your timeline or Whatsapp status. In Nigeria, specifically in section 37 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, that is a violation of the person’s right to privacy.
The one that is baffling is to see people screenshotting their last chat with a dead person and posting it on their timeline or Whatsapp status.
It is a violation of the law because if that person were to be alive, he may not be comfortable with you putting out his or her chat on a public platform.”
Chapter 4 Section 37 of the Nigerian constitution reads;
‘’National Protection The right to privacy is one ofnthe fundamental human rights entrenched in thenNigerian Constitution. Section 37 of the 1999nConstitution provides that: “The privacy of citizens,ntheir homes, correspondence, telephonenconversations and telegraphic communications is hereby guaranteed and protected.”