STILL ON THE ACCESS BANK MALE STAFF WHO RECORDED VIDEOS OF HIS FEMALE COLLEAGUES INSIDE RESTROOM AND SOLD THEM- TRIBUNE EDITORIAL

IN what amounts to a criminal and morally reprehensible conduct exemplifying an extreme level of depravity, a male staffer of Access Bank Plc was recently caught filming the nakedness of his colleagues in the bank’s restrooms. The bank staffers whose nudity was filmed were said to belong to the contact centre team who often have cause to work late or sleep over at the office, making it imperative for them to use the wash rooms to ease themselves and sometimes freshen up and change their clothes. However, unknown to them, one of their colleagues in the Quality Assurance unit, Eze Stephen, allegedly planted cameras in the toilets and bathrooms, filming their nakedness whenever they made use of the facilities. Fortunately, he was caught red handed by one of his victims. The bank got him arrested and a raid was conducted on his home, where more than 400 video clips were found on his devices.

While many were still wondering whether or not the culprit was just an undisciplined and misguided pervert without a purpose, it was discovered that some of the videos he filmed without the knowledge of his colleagues, let alone their consent, were sold to some online platforms, including Onlyfans and Telegram. In other words,  the motivation for Eze’s invasion of his colleagues’ privacy is pecuniary. For him, violating the privacy of fellow member of staff is a side hustle he engaged in for the purpose of making extra money. His action  is most ignoble and patently uncivilised. Why film and then sell videos of your colleagues who were innocently answering the call of nature, taking their births or changing their clothes?  Why invade the privacy of innocent colleagues in such a criminally repugnant manner? Suddenly, innocent people using restrooms found their nakedness on international platforms, putting them in grave psychological pain.  Is there no limit to the extent some people are willing to go, or the ethical boundaries they would breach just to gain access to filthy lucre?  How can a sane person be at ease making money from acts that put their fellow human beings to ridicule or opprobrium that they do not deserve?

Workers at the contact centre have expressed grave concern over the breach of their privacy. Indeed, one of them asked a rethorical question: “What happens to us if some of the videos the suspect has sold circulate online?” This is a veritable concern because those who purchased the illicit videos from the culprit most probably have the intention to broadcast them to a wider audience in order to drive traffic to their platforms. This wouldn’t have happened at all in a clime where individuals and institutions care about the soundness of their principles and values. In an environment where sound moral values are strictly adhered to, laws will be obeyed and the average adult would realise that it is criminal and unconscionable to seek to profit from the outcomes of violation and invasion of innocent persons’ privacy. In other words, in normal circumstances, principles and values will point a direction to the actions and undertakings of individuals and organisations.

The swift reaction of Access Bank to the incident and its avowed commitment to cooperating with the relevant authorities to investigate and resolve the matter are reassuring. It is also good that the bank has assured the general public of its commitment to upholding zero tolerance for harassment or any form of violation of privacy, stressing that the safety, dignity and well-being of its staff and customers are of paramount importance to it. This is  the right thing to do and it is commendable. It is also imperative that the violated staff are lent organisational support, such as funding them to seek professional counseling and psychological help. This is very important in order to obviate or lessen their  apprehension about their illegally taken nude pictures and videos being on the internet. Professionals have a way of helping such victims of violations to allay or moderate such trepidation before it becomes depression.

Also, where possible, the relevant security agencies should pursue and see to the deletion of any of the videos that may have been sold to international platforms to ensure that the worst fears of the affected workers do not crystalise, and so as to avoid their exposure to ridicule. On this score, we urge the bank to cooperate with the relevant authorities to ensure that no further sale of the videos happens, and that any of the videos that may have made it to the internet are taken down.  In addition, the authorities should ensure that the culprit does not profit from his criminal and morally reprehensible conduct by making sure that he is dispossessed of any illicit income he may  have made from the deplorable act.

It is unfortunate that something that should be used to track down criminals was deployed on innocent bank workers for criminal and ignoble motives. And if not for depravity and demonic lust, what is attractive, for instance, in someone answering the call of nature to warrant filming it and selling such a product?  Shouldn’t  the heads of the producers of the crazy content/motion pictures  and the buyers be examined?  Why go out of your way to deliberately embarrass innocent people?  Did the culprit even spare a thought on the potential of his action to destroy homes when people find the privacy of their spouses online? Or he just could not care a hoot? We have been writing on unscrupulous and wicked acts, but this is in a class of its own as it is  coloured with inordinate quest for filthy lucre and a semblance of lunacy. This incident should be painstakingly inquired into and the culprit punished to the fullest extent of the law, if found guilty. That the incident happened at a time when there is burgeoning scrutiny on privacy practices in Nigeria’s banking sector is unsettling. The instant infraction is, however, not an organisational issue; it is a violation committed by an aberrant bank staffer, and such errant individuals are virtually everywhere. We urge the management to ensure that this kind of violation and invasion of privacy never ever happens again under its watch.