Court Grants Lawyer Leave To Serve Nollywood Actress Tonto Dikeh Via Email In N200million Suit For Alleged Exorcism
Court Grants Lawyer Leave To Serve Nollywood Actress Tonto Dikeh Via Email In N200million Suit For Alleged Exorcism
The order, issued by Justice Maryann E. Anenih, followed the court’s consideration of an ex parte motion filed by the applicant, Obasi, who is suing on behalf of the unnamed minor.
The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, has granted an application permitting substituted service of court processes on Nollywood actress, Tonto Dikeh, in a N200 million lawsuit instituted against her by a human rights lawyer, Barrister Ikechukwu Obasi, over an alleged “extorcism” of an Abuja schoolgirl.
The order, issued by Justice Maryann E. Anenih, followed the court’s consideration of an ex parte motion filed by the applicant, Obasi, who is suing on behalf of the unnamed minor.
According to the court documents, the motion ex parte, filed on March 31, 2026, was supported by a six-paragraph affidavit and a written address.
Counsel to the applicant, C.E. Okoro Esq., urged the court to grant leave for the respondent to be served through alternative means after difficulties in effecting personal service.
The applicant specifically sought an order allowing the respondent to be served via her known email addresses, talktotontodikeh@gmail.com and tontodikehmanagement@gmail.com, or in the alternative, through publication in a reputable national newspaper.
After listening to the submissions of the applicant’s counsel, Justice Anenih ruled that sufficient grounds had been established to justify the request.
“Suffice to say that cogent and compelling reasons have been adduced constituting sufficient grounds upon which the application sought ought to be granted as prayed by the Applicant,” the court held.
Consequently, the court granted leave for substituted service of all originating and subsequent processes in the suit.
Court
The court specified that service could be effected through both of the actress’s email addresses and by publication in any reputable national daily newspaper circulating within the court’s jurisdiction.
“Order is hereby made granting leave to serve the Respondent with the originating processes and all other subsequent Court processes in this suit by substituted means,” the court declared.
The matter has been adjourned to May 11, 2026, for hearing.
The order was issued under the seal of the court at High Court No. 3, Maitama, Abuja, and bears the signature of the presiding judge.
In March 2026, SaharaReporters reported that Obasi filed a fundamental rights enforcement suit at the court against Tonto Dikeh, accusing her of violating the rights of a female school child during what is described as a “vicious religious deliverance ritual.”
The suit, filed pursuant to the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules 2009, seeks several declarations and orders against Dikeh, including ₦200 million in damages for alleged violations of the child’s rights to dignity and privacy.
Obasi filed the suit on behalf of the minor, a Junior Secondary School 1 student of Junior Secondary School, Durumi II, Abuja, who is originally from Rivers State.
According to the affidavit attached to the originating motion, the incident allegedly occurred on March 6, 2026, when the lawyer said he came across a viral video and photographs posted on Dikeh’s official Facebook page.
In the footage, the actress carried out what the lawyer described as a religious exorcism on the schoolgirl, during which the child was laid on bare ground and pressed against a stony surface.
The lawyer further argued that the alleged act constituted degrading treatment and exposed the child to public humiliation, stigma, and psychological trauma.
Obasi also alleged that the publication of the images and video footage of the incident on social media violated the child’s right to privacy, as guaranteed under Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution and provisions of the Child Rights Act 2003.
