Lawyer Sues Tonto Dikeh, Demands ₦200m Over Schoolgirl Deliverance

A human rights lawyer, Ikechukwu Obasi, has approached the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja with a suit against Nollywood actress and self-acclaimed evangelist, Tonto Dikeh, over an alleged religious deliverance involving a female school child.

The suit, filed under the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules 2009, seeks several declarations from the court and demands ₦200 million in damages for what the lawyer claims were violations of the child’s rights to dignity and privacy. Obasi filed the action 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 an affidavit attached to the motion, the lawyer said he came across viral footage and photographs posted on Dikeh’s official Facebook page on March 6, 2026. The material allegedly showed the actress performing a religious exorcism on the girl while she was laid on bare ground and held against a stony surface.

Obasi maintains that the act subjected the child to degrading treatment and public humiliation. He also argued that sharing the images and video online breached the child’s right to privacy and could expose her to ridicule and stigma among peers. The lawyer is asking the court to rule that the alleged ritual violated the child’s fundamental rights under the Nigerian Constitution, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the Child Rights Act.