DEFAMATION: COURT ORDERS SOCIAL MEDIA CRITIC TO PAY LEGAL PRACTITIONER N5M IN DAMAGES

March 9, 2026

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BY:TAJUDEEN AMINAT

A High Court in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, has directed social media user Mr. Chika Nwoba to pay N5 million in damages to legal practitioner Ugadu Chinedu over alleged defamation.

Nwoba was accused, in a suit numbered HAB/75/2024, of posting defamatory content about Chinedu on his Facebook page during 2024 and 2025.

After reviewing all evidence and exhibits, Justice Franklin Edem ruled that Nwoba had defamed Chinedu, stating: “A declaration is hereby made that exhibits P1, P5, P9, P10, and P11, published by the Defendant on 15/6/2024, 18/9/2024, 18/2/2025, and 17/7/2025 on his Facebook page against the plaintiff, are defamatory.”

For his actions in publishing the defamatory content, the court ordered the defendant to pay the plaintiff N5,000,000 (five million naira) as general and aggravated damages.

The court also issued a perpetual injunction preventing the defendant, along with his agents, servants, or associates, from making any further defamatory statements about the plaintiff on any media platform.

Furthermore, the defendant is required to retract the defamatory publications within 30 days of this judgment by posting a retraction on his Facebook page for seven consecutive days, accompanied by a formal apology to the plaintiff.