KEY POINTS
- FCT High Court awarded N101 million in damages and costs against SERAP for defaming two DSS operatives.
- Justice Halilu Yusuf rejected SERAP’s justification defense and ordered apologies on its website, X handle, two newspapers and two TV stations.
- Amnesty International criticized the ruling, warning it threatens free expression and civic space in Nigeria.
A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory on Tuesday ordered the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) to pay N101 million in damages and costs to two operatives of the Department of State Services, in a defamation ruling Amnesty International immediately attacked as a threat to civic space.
Justice Halilu Yusuf, sitting in Maitama, held that SERAP and its deputy director, Kolawole Oluwadare, defamed DSS officials Sarah John and Gabriel Ogundele through a publication issued on September 10, 2024 alleging that the operatives invaded SERAP’s Abuja office and harassed staff.
Now the judgment hands the security agency a rare court win against one of Nigeria’s most vocal civic groups, while igniting a fresh row over how far defamation law should reach into rights advocacy.
Court rejects justification defense
Justice Yusuf threw out the defendants’ plea of justification, ruling that SERAP and Oluwadare failed to prove their publication rested on truth. Specifically, the judge held that the defendants used the words “invasion,” “forceful entry” and “harassment” inaccurately.
Indeed, he noted that the defendants admitted at trial that the DSS officials neither forced entry into SERAP’s premises nor brandished weapons. The judge said the publication injured the claimants’ professional reputations and standing.
“There is no doubt that the publication affected the claimants mentally and psychologically,” Yusuf said. Moreover, he ruled that SERAP failed to take the post down even after the officials raised objections.
Apology, interest and costs
The court awarded N100 million in general damages plus N1 million in costs. Additionally, Yusuf ordered SERAP to publish a public apology on its website, X handle, two national newspapers and two television stations.
The judgment sum will attract 10 percent interest per annum from the date of judgment until the defendants pay, the court ruled.
Yusuf also dismissed SERAP’s preliminary objections challenging the suit’s competence, holding that the claimants enjoyed locus standi and that the court had jurisdiction. However, he stressed that defamation can stand even where a publication does not name claimants directly.
Amnesty International faulted the verdict almost immediately, calling it a “deeply troubling signal” about civic space in Nigeria. Isa Sanusi, director of Amnesty International Nigeria, said the ruling could embolden the use of strategic lawsuits against public participation, often called SLAPPs, against civil society actors.
“Such developments risk weakening public oversight, discouraging whistleblowing, and undermining efforts to combat corruption and illicit financial flows,” Sanusi said. Furthermore, the rights body urged Nigerian authorities to quash the judgment and end what it called judicial harassment of SERAP.
Free speech and standards
Amnesty leaned on Sections 39 and 40 of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution, which guarantee freedom of expression and association. Meanwhile, the group invoked United Nations special rapporteur guidance that public officials should tolerate a higher level of criticism than private citizens, particularly on corruption and governance.
Today, the ruling sits as a precedent civil society lawyers will study closely. Together with several recent suits filed by public officials against media houses and activists, it sharpens questions about where free expression ends and reputational injury begins.
Whether SERAP appeals, settles or pays will determine the next chapter. Yet for now, the DSS operatives leave court with a landmark award, while rights defenders leave with a fresh warning that publication mistakes can carry steep cost.
