In a significant legal ruling, Nollywood actress Adunni Ade
has been awarded N20 million in damages by the Lagos high court for a breach of
her privacy.
The case (Suit No. LD/17781MFHR/2024) was filed against a
Nigerian news platform and its reporter after they published an article on
January 18, 2023, linking Ade to a story about “six popular Nigerian actresses
who have been accused of dating” lawmaker Dino Melaye.
The core of the case: ‘False light’ invasion of privacy
The lawsuit was not based on defamation but on a legal
principle known as “false light” invasion of privacy. The actress argued that
the publication portrayed her to the public in a “misleading and offensive way
that mischaracterises her life” without her consent.
According to court documents sighted by TheCable Lifestyle,
Ade submitted that the report was published to generate web traffic and attract
s.
She claimed it caused her “emotional and psychological
distress” and violated her fundamental right to privacy as enshrined in Section
37 of the Nigerian constitution.
The actress furthermore asserted a breach of the Nigeria
Data Protection Act, 2023, citing the inappropriate and misleading use of her
name and image without consent.
The defense and the court’s ruling
In their defense, the blogger and publisher denied using
Ade’s picture for traffic, stating that she has over a thousand personal photos
on her public Instagram profile. They also noted the lawsuit was filed a year
after the publication and without prior communication from the actress.
However, Ibironke Harrison, the presiding judge, found
sufficient affidavit evidence to rule in the applicant’s favour.
The court held that Ade did not need to have submitted her
data to the defendant directly to have a cause for action.
In the ruling delivered on June 24, 2025, Harrison awarded
Ade the sum of N20 million as general damages.
The court also issued a mandatory order compelling the
respondents to delete and expunge the actress’ name and picture from the
offending publication.
In May, the 49-year-old film star also threatened to sue a
blog over false reports on her marital status.
Adunni was born to an American mother and a Nigerian father.
She is a single mother of two boys, Ayden Young and D’marion Young.
In 2017, the actress revealed that she had never been
married to the father of her children. She said she ended their eight-year-old
relationship because it was “never going to work out”.
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