Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has filed a $5 million lawsuit against Meta Platforms Inc., alleging an invasion of his privacy through a misleading publication on its social media platform, Facebook.
The suit, filed before a Lagos High Court, was brought under Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution (as amended) and the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023. Falana claims that Meta published a false video and caption on its platform titled “AfriCare Health Centre,” alleging he had suffered from prostatitis for over 16 years.
Describing the publication as “false, misleading, and unfair,” Falana argued that the video portrayed him in a false light, violating his constitutional right to privacy and causing him significant emotional and psychological distress.
Falana who claimed that the published false video about his health status, which is his private life has rubished his image and the name he built over the years, emphasised that the allegations made in the video were entirely fabricated and prejudicial to his reputation.
Falana further noted that Meta’s failure to verify the claims before publication was “careless, reckless, and aimed at drawing traffic to its platform to boost advertisement revenues.”
He said, “By the video, the Respondent’s page has given me a publicity that paints me in false light as the insinuations in the video are false and they infringe my right to privacy right to be let alone.
“At the time of deposing to this affidavit, the video has been published to the entire world on the Internet, and it has remained there for several weeks.
“For their failure to verify the page and video before publishing, I believe the Respondent’s publicity of my name and image in a false light was done carelessly and recklessly to draw traffic to the Respondent’s platform to boost its advertisement revenues.
“I believe that the Respondents use of my name and image in the video is unfair and insensitive to my feelings since they never verified the claims as expected.”
He lamented that the video, which has been accessible online for several weeks, continues to cause him anxiety, sadness, and ridicule.
“I find the Respondents’ publicity of my photograph and name in a false light highly offensive and emotionally disturbing. This continues to cause me anxiety, sadness and exposure to ridicule.”
The lawyer is seeking a court declaration that Meta’s publication constituted an unlawful invasion of his privacy. He also requested an order mandating the immediate removal of the video from Facebook and general damages of $5 million for the harm caused.
Falana’s lawyer, Olumide Babalola, emphasised that the Respondent’s actions breached sections of the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023, by failing to protect the lawyer’s personal data.
Falana, widely recognised for his fearless advocacy and legal battles against human rights violations, said he initiated the legal action to “rescue and protect his image from further damage.”
