By Jane Okafor, Abuja
A human rights lawyer, Ikechukwu Obasi, has filed a ₦200 million lawsuit against Nollywood actress, Tonto Dikeh, over the alleged violation of the fundamental rights of a female schoolchild during what he described as a “vicious religious deliverance ritual.”
The suit, filed at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, pursuant to the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules, seeks several declarations and orders against the actress, 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 Government Junior Secondary School, Durumi II, Abuja, who is originally from Rivers State.
According to an 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 was seen carrying out what the lawyer described as a religious exorcism on the schoolgirl. The child was allegedly laid on bare ground and pressed against a stony surface during the exercise.
Part of the affidavit reads:
“On March 6, 2026, I stumbled upon viral footage and photographs on the official Facebook page of the Respondent, Tonto Dikeh, showing her carrying out a vicious religious exorcism on a female schoolchild, during which the child was laid on bare ground while being pressed against a stony surface despite the Respondent wearing artificial fingernails, thereby harassing and publicly shaming the child.”
The lawyer argued that the alleged act amounted to degrading treatment and exposed the child to humiliation, stigma and possible psychological trauma.
“The actions of the Respondent did not only constitute degrading treatment of the schoolchild but also exposed her to public shame, contempt and likely unspoken trauma,” the affidavit stated.
Obasi further alleged that publishing the images and video of the incident on social media violated the child’s right to privacy as guaranteed under Section 37 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and provisions of the Child Rights Act.
“The Respondent’s unauthorised publication of photographs and video footage of the religious rite carried out on the schoolchild constitutes a violation of the child’s privacy,” the court filing added.
The lawyer also argued that portraying the child as being demonically possessed and attempting to cast out alleged demons could expose the minor to ridicule and discrimination among her peers.
According to him, such actions go beyond the lawful exercise of religious freedom and instead subject the child to public stigma and social ridicule. 
In the suit, Obasi asked the court to declare that the alleged deliverance ritual carried out by Dikeh amounts to a violation of the child’s fundamental rights to dignity as guaranteed under Section 34 of the Nigerian Constitution, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Child Rights Act.
He is also seeking a declaration that any form of child exorcism or harmful religious rite carried out under the guise of spiritual deliverance violates the fundamental rights of children.
The lawyer further asked the court to order Dikeh to remove the video and images from all her social media platforms and publish an unreserved apology to the child and Nigerian children in three national newspapers.
In addition, the suit seeks an order of perpetual injunction restraining the actress from carrying out similar religious exorcisms or harmful rites on any Nigerian child.
Obasi also urged the court to award ₦200 million in damages against the actress for the alleged violation of the child’s rights to dignity and privacy, noting that the minor has faced stigmatisation since the incident.
The case has yet to be assigned a hearing date by the court.
