Human rights lawyer Ikechukwu Obasi has filed a lawsuit against Nollywood actress Tonto Dikeh over a video showing her performing a deliverance ritual on a schoolgirl in Abuja
The case was filed at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory under the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules 2009. Obasi is seeking a court ruling that Dikeh’s actions violated the rights of the child involved.
The suit was filed on behalf of the minor, a Junior Secondary School One student at Junior Secondary School, Durumi II, who hails from Rivers State.
In an affidavit attached to the court filing, Obasi said he came across photos and a video shared on the actress’s official Facebook page on March 6, 2026. The footage showed Dikeh performing what he described as a forceful religious deliverance on the student during a school visit.
The affidavit detailed that the child was placed on bare ground and held against a rough surface while the ritual was carried out. Obasi argued that this amounted to harassment, subjected the child to public embarrassment, and could cause emotional stress, particularly as the video circulated widely on social media.
The lawyer also raised concerns about the decision to share images and videos of the child online, arguing that it violated her right to privacy as guaranteed by the Nigerian Constitution and the Child Rights Act. He further warned that portraying the girl as possessed and undergoing an exorcism could expose her to discrimination and ridicule, especially in communities with strong beliefs about witchcraft and spiritual attacks.
Through the suit, Obasi is asking the court to declare that the deliverance ritual breached the child’s right to dignity under Section 34 of the 1999 Constitution, as well as provisions of the Child Rights Act and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. The court is also being asked to rule that involving minors in such religious rituals violates their fundamental rights.
In addition, the lawyer is seeking an order requiring Dikeh to remove all related videos and images from her social media accounts, issue a public apology to the child and Nigerian children through three national newspapers, and be prohibited from performing similar rituals on any child in Nigeria in the future.
Obasi is also requesting the court to award ₦200 million in damages for the alleged violation of the child’s rights to dignity and privacy.
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