The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, has granted a fresh ex parte order permitting the service of court processes on Nollywood actress Tonto Dikeh through substituted means in a N200 million lawsuit instituted against her by a human rights lawyer, Barrister Ikechukwu Obasi, over an alleged “exorcism” of an Abuja schoolgirl.
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According to court documents, the matter came up before Justice Maryann E. Anenih of the FCT High Court in Abuja.
The suit, marked FCT/HC/CV/1149/2025 and Motion No. M/7795/2026, was brought before the court by Ikechukwu Obasi Esq., who sued the actress on behalf of the unnamed Abuja school child.
The applicant had filed a motion ex parte seeking leave of the court to serve the respondent through substituted means after earlier attempts to serve her electronically allegedly failed.
In the application, counsel to the applicant, C.E. Okoro Esq., prayed the court for “an order granting leave to the Applicant to serve the Respondent with the originating process and all other subsequent court processes in this suit by substituted means.”
The applicant specifically requested permission to either paste the court processes at Dikeh’s last known address at No. 42, Nwafor A. Orizu Street, Zone 8, Apo Legislative Quarters, Abuja, or alternatively serve her through a “newly verified email address,” talktotonto@gmail.com.
After considering the application, the court granted the prayers sought by the applicant.
“Order is hereby granted as prayed,” the ruling stated.
The court subsequently adjourned the matter to June 10, 2026, for hearing.
The order, issued under the seal of the court and signed by the Deputy Chief Registrar, Ojoma Okeme, indicated that the ruling followed the failure of earlier court-approved service attempts through electronic mail.
Justice Anenih had on March 1, 2026, granted an application permitting substituted service of the court processes on Dikeh via her known email addresses.
The order followed the court’s consideration of an ex parte motion filed by the applicant, Obasi, who is suing on behalf of the unnamed minor.
However, the lawyer said those email channels were no longer active when the bailiff attempted service.
Barrister Obasi told newsmen on Wednesday, May 13, 2026, that the fresh application became necessary because the email addresses previously approved by the court for service allegedly turned inactive during attempts by court officials to effect service.
“While attempting to effect service via those court-ordered emails, it turned out that they had become inactive,” Obasi said.
“In order to ensure that the justice of the case is done and that she is successfully served, Ikechukwu Obasi Esq. brought a fresh ex parte application seeking to serve the respondent, Tonto Dikeh, by pasting the processes at her last known address.”
The lawyer further disclosed that on April 8, 2026, the court granted the order permitting substituted service through the pasting of court documents at the actress’s Abuja residence.
“As of today, the bailiff of the court confirmed that she has been served. We also sent mail to the newly verified email as an alternative,” he said.
“All means are being explored to ensure that she has the knowledge of a pending fundamental rights suit I filed against her. This is why this press update is pertinent.”
The N200 million suit instituted by Barrister Ikechukwu Obasi against Nollywood actress Tonto Dikeh on behalf of an unnamed Abuja schoolgirl over the alleged “exorcism” raises significant fundamental rights questions concerning the protection of minors, the boundaries of religious or spiritual practice, and the legal liability of public figures whose conduct allegedly affects vulnerable persons.
The persistence with which the applicant has pursued service on the actress first through electronic mail, then by pasting at her last known address, and now through a newly verified email address speaks to the determination of the applicant to ensure that the substantive issues raised in the suit are ventilated in open court.
With the matter now adjourned to June 10, 2026, for hearing, and the court having confirmed through the bailiff that the actress has been served, the stage is set for the substantive issues in the N200 million lawsuit to come before Justice Maryann E. Anenih of the FCT High Court in Abuja for determination.
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