A Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja has ordered the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) to pay N100 million in damages to two officials of the Department of State Services (DSS) over a defamatory social media publication, in a ruling the rights group has swiftly rejected and vowed to challenge on appeal.
Justice Yusuf Halilu delivered the judgment on Tuesday in a suit marked FCT/HC/CV/4547/24, ruling that DSS operatives Sarah John and Gabriel Ogundele had successfully established that SERAP’s September 9, 2024 posts on its X handle were libellous and had damaged their professional reputations. The court awarded N100 million in general damages, N1 million as litigation costs, and ordered a 10 percent annual post-judgment interest on the damages until the full sum is paid.
The court also directed SERAP and its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, who was named as a co-defendant, to issue a public apology to the two officers through SERAP’s website, its X handle, The Punch and Vanguard newspapers, and on Arise Television and Channels Television.
The case arose after SERAP posted on X alleging that DSS operatives had “unlawfully occupied” its Abuja office on September 9, 2024, and were demanding access to its directors, following the organisation’s public call on President Bola Tinubu to investigate alleged corruption within the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and to reverse fuel price increases. The posts described the visit as harassment and intimidation.
The DSS countered that the visit by John and Ogundele was a routine familiarisation call with SERAP’s new leadership, a characterisation SERAP rejected. The two officers said they were subsequently suspended and subjected to an internal disciplinary process as a result of the publication. After internal DSS investigations reportedly found no evidence to support SERAP’s allegations, the operatives filed a N5.5 billion defamation suit. The court, while finding in their favour, awarded N100 million rather than the full sum sought.
Justice Halilu held that SERAP’s defence of justification failed because the alleged invasion and intimidation were not established by evidence before the court. “Your right ends where another person’s own begins,” the judge said, adding that SERAP, as an organisation that advocates for accountability and transparency, was also bound to respect the rights of others in its publications.
SERAP responded sharply to the ruling, describing it as a “travesty and a serious blow to civic space in Nigeria.” In a statement signed by Oluwadare, the organisation said it had retained Senior Advocates Tayo Oyetibo and Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa to file an immediate appeal. “It reflects a troubling pattern of using defamation laws to punish legitimate criticism and suppress accountability,” SERAP said, adding that its original publication was made in the public interest.
