A human rights lawyer, Ikechukwu Obasi, has filed a fundamental rights enforcement suit against Nollywood actress and self-described evangelist, Tonto Dikeh at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, accusing her of violating the rights of a female schoolchild during an alleged religious deliverance ritual.
The lawsuit, filed under the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules 2009, seeks several declarations from the court, including ₦200 million in damages over alleged violations of the child’s rights to dignity and privacy.
Obasi filed the case on behalf of the minor, a Junior Secondary School 1 student at Junior Secondary School, Durumi II, Abuja, who is originally from Rivers State.
According to the affidavit supporting the application, the incident allegedly occurred on March 6, 2026, when the lawyer said he discovered a viral video and photographs posted on Dikeh’s official Facebook page.
In the footage, the actress was seen conducting what the lawyer described as a religious exorcism on the schoolgirl. The affidavit claims the child was laid on bare ground and pressed against a stony surface during the ritual.
Obasi argued that the act amounted to degrading treatment and exposed the child to public humiliation, stigma, and possible psychological trauma.
The suit further alleges that posting the images and video of the incident on social media violated the child’s right to privacy, as protected under Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution and provisions of the Child Rights Act 2003.
According to the lawyer, portraying the child as being demonically possessed and attempting to cast out alleged demons could subject her to ridicule and discrimination among her peers.
In the suit, Obasi is asking the court to declare that the alleged deliverance ritual constitutes a violation of the child’s right to dignity under Section 34 of the Nigerian Constitution, as well as provisions of the the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
He also requested the court to order Dikeh to remove the video and photographs from all social media platforms and publish an unreserved apology to the child and Nigerian children in three national newspapers.
Additionally, the suit seeks a perpetual injunction restraining the actress from carrying out similar religious exorcisms or harmful rites on any child in Nigeria.
Obasi is also asking the court to award ₦200 million in damages, arguing that the child has faced stigma since the incident became public.
As of the time of this report, the case has not yet been assigned a hearing date by the court.
