Renowned human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, has filed a $5 million lawsuit against Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook, over alleged violations of his privacy rights.
The lawsuit, instituted at the Lagos High Court, accuses Meta of publishing misleading information about Falana’s health status, falsely claiming he suffers from Prostatitis.
According to the fundamental rights suit filed by his counsel, Olumide Babalola, Falana alleges that a Facebook page, AfriCare Health Center, shared a video falsely depicting him as suffering from the condition. The video, featuring motion images and voice captions purportedly attributed to him, claims he battled Prostatitis for over 16 years and experienced symptoms such as pain and urinary discomfort.
Falana, however, insists that the claims are entirely false and unauthorized.
Violation of Privacy and Legal Grounds
The senior lawyer argues that the publication constitutes an invasion of his privacy, as protected under Section 37 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution. He also cites violations of Section 24(1)(a) and (e) of the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023.
“The video and its contents are false, inaccurate, misleading, and unfair to me. It paints me in a false light and constitutes an unjustifiable intrusion into my privacy,” Falana stated in his affidavit.
He further asserts that Meta’s failure to verify the authenticity of the content before publication was both reckless and insensitive.
“For the purpose of this suit, I do not find these stories libelous, but since they are false and fabricated against me, I find them offensive, reckless, insensitive, disturbing, and an unjustifiable intrusion into my privacy,” he added.
Falana’s Demands and Meta’s Responsibility
In his court filings, Falana seeks:
A declaration that Meta’s publication violated his fundamental right to privacy.
An order directing Meta to remove the false video.
A $5 million compensation for reputational and emotional damages.
He also condemns Meta’s alleged misuse of his image and name, arguing that it was done to drive traffic to the platform and boost advertising revenue.
“At the time of deposing this affidavit, the video has been published to the entire world on the internet, and it has remained there for several weeks. The respondents’ publicity of my photograph and name in a false light is highly offensive and emotionally disturbing. This continues to cause me anxiety, sadness, and exposure to ridicule,” he said.
Falana urged the court to intervene, arguing that the video’s continued circulation threatens his reputation and personal dignity.
