THE Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja has awarded N100 million damages against Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) in a defamation suit filed against it by Nigeria’s secret police – the State Security Service (SSS) and two of its officers.
Delivering the judgment on Tuesday, the judge, Yusuf Halilu, awarded N100 million damages against SERAP, a leading public accountability non-profit. The court also ordered SERAP to apologise to the SSS in national dailies and on television.
“From the context of the documents before the court, it is settled there was a publication,” Halilu said.
The ICIR reports that in October 2024, SSS operatives filed a lawsuit against SERAP, accusing the organisation of falsely alleging that its agents invaded the accused’s Abuja office in September 2024.
Two SSS operatives, Sarah John and Gabriel Ogundele, who were said to have been defamed by the claim, were listed as co-claimants in the suit that sought N5 billion in damages. The litigants argued that the allegation harmed their reputations.
They said SERAP had alleged that the SSS invaded its office, a claim that was widely circulated on Twitter and reported by several media organisations, adding that the allegation had a serious impact on them.
The agency denied invading SERAP’s office or harassing its staff, with two officers testifying in support.
The SSS argued further that the incident occurred after SERAP had written to President Bola Tinubu, urging him to investigate alleged corruption in the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and to reverse the increase in petrol prices.
However, SERAP presented a rebuttal during the trial.
In his judgment, Halilu said defamation remained a distinct cause of action, “legally and historically,” and involved exposing a person to hatred or ridicule, stressing that it covered libel (written) and slander (spoken)
He explained that the key issue was whether the claimants proved defamation and were entitled to be granted their prayers, explaining that the defendants did not challenge the evidence on oath put forward by the plaintiffs.
He said libel becomes actionable once a false and harmful statement is published, pointing to March 21, 2025, when Sarah John submitted social media posts as evidence. He added that Exhibit 3 showed that SERAP published statements about the officers.
The judge opined further that although SERAP did not mention names, the description identified the officers and the court must decide whether the words in question were defamatory, noting that they could amount to a derogatory innuendoes.
“The evidence of the SSS officer is tall, large, dark, slim, dark skin. I have taken judicial notice of their features, and all suit the claimants in this case. It cannot be challenged that there was defamation against the claimants,” the judge ruled.
He said the publication implied that the officers unlawfully occupied SERAP’s office and intimidated its staff, portraying them as acting without proper authority and lacking professionalism.
“Allegations of intimidation and harassment should not be attributed to SSS officers as in this case. The publication clearly injured the claimants in their profession. Once there is publication, it does not require further proof. The publication is indeed libellous,” he added.
He ruled that the statements might have spread widely beyond Nigeria, potentially affecting the claimants’ physical and psychological well-being.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.