Human rights lawyer Ikechukwu Obasi has instituted a fundamental rights enforcement suit against Nollywood actress Tonto Dikeh at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, accusing her of violating the fundamental rights of a female school child during what he described as a vicious religious deliverance ritual.
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The suit, filed pursuant to the Fundamental Rights Enforcement Procedure Rules 2009, seeks several declarations and orders against the actress, including N200 million in damages for alleged violations of the child’s constitutional rights to dignity and privacy.
According to the affidavit attached to the originating motion, the incident allegedly occurred on March 6, 2026, when Obasi said he came across a viral video and photographs posted on Dikeh’s official Facebook page showing the actress performing what he described as a religious exorcism on a schoolgirl.
The court filing states that the child, a Junior Secondary School 1 student of Junior Secondary School Durumi II, Abuja, who is originally from Rivers State, was laid on bare ground and pressed against a stony surface during the alleged ritual. The affidavit noted that the actress was wearing artificial fingernails while allegedly pressing the child against the ground, and accused her of harassing and publicly shaming the minor.
Obasi argued that the alleged act did not merely constitute degrading treatment but exposed the child to contempt, public shame, and what he described as likely unspoken child trauma. He contended that portraying the child as being demonically possessed and attempting to cast out alleged demons could subject the minor to ridicule and discrimination among her peers, particularly within the African context.
The lawyer further alleged that the publication of the images and video footage of the incident 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.
He argued that Dikeh’s unauthorized publication of the material constituted a breach of the child’s privacy and that such actions go beyond the lawful exercise of religious freedom, instead exposing the minor to public stigma and social ridicule.
In the suit, Obasi is asking the court to grant the following reliefs:
A declaration that the alleged deliverance ritual carried out by Dikeh amounts to a flagrant 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.
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.
An order directing Dikeh to remove the video footage and images from all her social media platforms.
An order directing the actress to publish an unreserved apology to the child and Nigerian children in three national newspapers.
An order of perpetual injunction restraining Dikeh from carrying out similar religious exorcism or harmful rites on any Nigerian child.
An award of N200 million in damages against the actress for violations of the child’s fundamental rights to dignity and privacy.
Obasi noted in the suit that the child has been facing stigmatisation since the incident occurred.
The case has yet to be assigned a hearing date by the court. Neither Tonto Dikeh nor her legal representatives have publicly responded to the suit as of the time of this report.
The lawsuit adds to a growing body of legal and public discourse around the intersection of religious practices and child protection in Nigeria, with advocacy groups increasingly calling for stricter enforcement of the Child Rights Act against harmful traditional and religious practices targeting minors.
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