A Federal High Court sitting in the Federal Capital Territory has issued an interlocutory injunction barring a United Kingdom-based activist, Dr Sandra Duru, also known as Prof Mgbeke, and Meta Platforms Inc., owners of Facebook, from further circulating materials alleged to be defamatory against the senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
Justice I. Mohammed delivered the ruling in Suit No: FCT/HC/CV/229/2025 after granting a motion on notice filed by the claimant, who sought urgent judicial intervention to halt what she described as persistent online attacks on her reputation.
A Certified True Copy of the ruling showed that the court found that the application raised “a serious question to be tried” and required immediate action to prevent irreparable harm to the claimant’s reputation pending the hearing of the substantive suit.
In his ruling, Justice Mohammed ordered that the first defendant, Sandra Duru, “either by herself, her agents, privies, or howsoever called, is restrained from further publishing, posting, sharing, disseminating or promoting on Facebook or any other social media platform any material containing defamatory, scandalous, inciteful or injurious content against the Applicant, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.”
The court also directed Meta Platforms Inc. to “immediately take down and/or disable access to all offending publications, posts or broadcasts made by the 1st Defendant against the Claimant, whether in her personal name or under the pseudonym ‘Prof Mgbeke,’ pending the determination of the suit.”
In addition, the judge ordered the social media company to preserve all electronic evidence connected to the dispute. According to the ruling, the second defendant must “preserve, secure, and archive all content, metadata and digital footprints associated with the offending posts and user accounts operated by the 1st Defendant, for the purpose of aiding this Honourable Court in the fair determination of the substantive suit.”
Justice Mohammed explained that injunctions are preservatory in nature, stressing that such orders are meant “to prevent irreparable harm, maintain the status quo ante bellum, and ensure that the subject matter of the dispute is not altered before final judgment.”
He further clarified that the reliefs granted were not punitive but protective.
“Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan established a clear prima facie case of ongoing defamation, with irreparable harm to reputation that cannot be adequately remedied by monetary damages alone,” the judge stated.
The court also held that “the balance of convenience overwhelmingly favours the Applicant,” particularly in light of the alleged continued publications and the risk of further reputational damage.
Justice Mohammed noted the claimant’s allegation that the first defendant engaged in “a sustained and malicious campaign of cyberbullying, harassment and defamation,” allegedly publishing at least 30 posts between May and October 2025.
According to the ruling, the posts were said to have gone viral, exposing the claimant to hostility, security threats and emotional trauma.
On Meta’s involvement, the court observed that the claimant had formally notified the platform through complaints identifying specific links and content. Justice Mohammed noted the allegation that Meta’s inaction “enabled the continued accessibility of the defamatory materials and facilitated further attacks,” an issue the court said raised serious questions requiring trial.
The ruling has been widely described as a notable judicial intervention in Nigeria’s evolving digital rights and media accountability space, underscoring the responsibility of individuals and social media platforms to curb online abuse while protecting constitutional rights to dignity, reputation and privacy.
The development comes eight months after Duru released what she described as evidence from exclusive phone conversations, which she claimed showed that the then-suspended lawmaker lied against the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, over a controversial sexual harassment allegation.
(PUNCH)
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