Ebonyi High Court Orders Social Media Critic to Pay N5 Million for Defaming Lawyer

A High Court in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, has directed social media critic Chika Nwoba to pay N5 million in damages to legal practitioner Ugadu Chinedu over alleged defamatory posts on Facebook.

The suit, filed under case number HAB/75/2024, accused Nwoba of publishing defamatory content against Chinedu in 2024 and 2025.

After reviewing evidence and exhibits, Justice Franklin Edem declared that several posts by Nwoba—dated June 15, 2024; September 18, 2024; February 18, 2025; and July 17, 2025—were defamatory.

“For his acts of publication of the defamatory matters as aforementioned, the defendant shall pay to the plaintiff the sum of five million naira only as general and aggravated damages,” the judge ruled.

The court also imposed a perpetual injunction, restraining Nwoba and associates from making further defamatory statements about Chinedu on any media platform.

Furthermore, Nwoba has 30 days to retract the publications on his Facebook page and issue an apology to Chinedu, with the retraction to run for seven consecutive days.

The judgment reinforces the legal accountability of social media users in Nigeria, particularly concerning defamation and online reputation management.