NEWS
FCT High Court Grants Substituted Service in ₦200 Million Suit Against Tonto Dikeh Over Alleged Schoolgirl “Extorcism”
The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, has granted an application permitting substituted service of court processes on Nollywood actress Tonto Dikeh in a ₦200 million lawsuit instituted against her by human rights lawyer Ikechukwu Obasi over an alleged “extorcism” of an Abuja schoolgirl.
The order was issued by Maryann E. Anenih after the court considered an ex parte motion filed by Obasi, who is suing on behalf of an unnamed minor.
Court documents show that the motion ex parte, filed on March 31, 2026, was supported by a six-paragraph affidavit and a written address. Counsel to the applicant, C.E. Okoro Esq., urged the court to grant leave for the respondent to be served through alternative means following difficulties in effecting personal service.
The applicant sought an order allowing service of court processes via the actress’s known email addresses: talktotontodikeh@gmail.com and tontodikehmanagement@gmail.com or, in the alternative, through publication in a reputable national newspaper.
After reviewing the submissions, Justice Anenih ruled that sufficient grounds had been established to justify the request.
“Suffice to say that cogent and compelling reasons have been adduced constituting sufficient grounds upon which the application sought ought to be granted as prayed by the Applicant,” the court held.
Consequently, the court granted leave for substituted service of all originating and subsequent processes in the suit. It specified that service could be effected through both email addresses and by publication in any reputable national daily newspaper circulating within the court’s jurisdiction.
“Order is hereby made granting leave to serve the Respondent with the originating processes and all other subsequent Court processes in this suit by substituted means,” the court declared.
The matter has been adjourned to May 11, 2026, for hearing. The order was issued under the seal of the court at High Court No. 3, Maitama, Abuja, and bears the signature of the presiding judge.
The suit stems from a fundamental rights enforcement action filed by Obasi in March 2026 against Dikeh, accusing her of violating the rights of a female school child during what is described as a “vicious religious deliverance ritual.”
Filed pursuant to the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules 2009, the suit seeks several declarations and orders, including ₦200 million in damages for alleged violations of the child’s rights to dignity and privacy.
Obasi instituted 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 the affidavit attached to the originating motion, the incident allegedly occurred on March 6, 2026, after the lawyer said he came across a viral video and photographs posted on Dikeh’s official Facebook page.
In the footage, the actress reportedly carried out what the lawyer described as a religious exorcism on the schoolgirl, during which the child was laid on bare ground and pressed against a stony surface.
The lawyer argued that the alleged act constituted degrading treatment and exposed the child to public humiliation, stigma, and psychological trauma. He further contended that the publication of the images and video footage on social media violated the child’s right to privacy, as guaranteed under Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution and provisions of the Child Rights Act 2003.