Renowned human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has initiated legal action against Meta Platforms Inc., the multinational technology company owned by Mark Zuckerberg.
Falana has filed a lawsuit before a Lagos High Court, demanding $5 million in damages over what he describes as an invasion of his privacy.
The suit, filed through his legal counsel, Olumide Babalola, is predicated on Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), as well as Sections 24(1)(A) and (E) and Section 34(1)(D) of the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023.
Falana contends that Meta, through its social media platform Facebook, unlawfully published a video falsely attributing a medical condition to him. The said video, captioned “AfriCare Health Centre,” allegedly claimed that Falana suffers from prostatitis, a disclosure he asserts constitutes a violation of his right to privacy as enshrined in the Nigerian Constitution.
According to Falana, the content disseminated via Facebook was “false, inaccurate, misleading, and unfair” and thus contravened Section 24(1)(a) and (e) of the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023.
As part of his legal reliefs, Falana is seeking a declaration from the court that “Respondents’ continued publication of the Applicant’s name, still and motion images, and purported voice on a page and video captioned ‘AfriCare Health Centre’ on their platform – www.facebook.com – to the effect that the Applicant suffered from a disease known as ‘Prostatitis’ constitutes an invasion of the Applicant’s privacy guaranteed by Section 37 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.”
Furthermore, he is requesting a court order directing Meta to “forthwith remove, erase and delete the video captioned ‘AfriCare Health Centre’ on their platform – www.facebook.com.”
For the damage inflicted upon his reputation and personal dignity, Falana is demanding general damages of $5 million, along with any other consequential reliefs the court may deem fit.
The senior advocate insists that the publication of the misleading video, which falsely claims he suffers from prostatitis, has tarnished the reputation he has diligently built over the years. He argues that the defamatory nature of the publication has caused him significant mental and emotional distress, portraying him in an unfavourable light.
In the affidavit supporting his motion, Falana highlights his career as a fearless advocate for justice, frequently taking on legal battles against government policies and human rights violations. His areas of practice span constitutional law, civil rights, public interest litigation, and international human rights law.
He also underscores his commitment to defending freedom of expression, advocating for marginalized groups, and holding authorities accountable.
Falana asserts that Meta operates a global social media platform, Facebook, and that on January 16, 2025, he discovered a video falsely depicting him as a prostatitis patient. The misleading content was published under the page “AfriCare Health Centre” and circulated widely on Facebook. He has submitted a copy of the video as an exhibit in his lawsuit.
The controversial video purportedly features Falana saying: “My name is Femi Falana, and I have been battling prostatitis for over 16 years. At the age of 50, I was diagnosed with this condition. Every day I faced pain, discomfort and constant fatigue. I had trouble urinating, lower back pain and other symptoms that made it difficult to live a full life. Despite consulting the best urologists in the country, no one could offer me effective treatment. I was prescribed numerous medications, physical therapy, even surgery, but the problem was that these methods only temporarily relieved the symptoms.”
The senior lawyer strongly refutes these claims, emphasizing that he has never suffered from prostatitis. He decries the wrongful publication, stating that his health is a private matter and that he has had no prior dealings with Meta or its affiliated pages concerning his medical history. He asserts that the video is entirely “false, inaccurate, misleading, and unfair,” constituting an unjustifiable invasion of his privacy.
Falana further contends that Meta’s vast global reach means that any content published on its platforms is accessible to millions of people. Since the video was first published in January 2023, he estimates that it has been viewed by countless individuals worldwide, significantly amplifying the harm done to his reputation.
He states, “For the purpose of this suit, I do not find these stories libellous, but since they are false and fabricated against me, I find them offensive, reckless, insensitive, disturbing, and an unjustifiable intrusion into my privacy by painting me in a false light.”
The legal luminary further argues, “By the video, the Respondent’s page has given me publicity that paints me in a false light as the insinuations in the video are false, and they infringe my right to privacy, my right to be let alone.”
Falana emphasizes that the video has remained accessible on the internet for weeks, compounding his distress. He criticizes Meta for failing to verify the authenticity of the content before allowing its dissemination.
“For their failure to verify the page and video before publishing, I believe the Respondent’s publicity of my name and image in a false light was done carelessly and recklessly to draw traffic to the Respondent’s platform to boost its advertisement revenues,” he alleges.
“I believe that the Respondent’s use of my name and image in the video is unfair and insensitive to my feelings since they never verified the claims as expected,” he adds.
Expressing his deep concerns over the emotional toll of the publication, he says, “I find the Respondents’ publicity of my photograph and name in a false light highly offensive and emotionally disturbing. This continues to cause me anxiety, sadness, and exposure to ridicule.”
Consequently, Falana is seeking judicial intervention to prevent further reputational damage, urging the court to grant his request and restore his dignity.