Femi Falana, SAN, a well-known Nigerian human rights lawyer, has filed a $5 million lawsuit against Facebook’s parent corporation, Meta Platforms Inc., on the grounds of privacy violation.
According to reports, Falana claims that Meta violated his rights by spreading false information about his health, and the complaint was filed in the Lagos High Court.
Falana claims in the basic rights lawsuit filed by his lawyer, Olumide Babalola, that Meta posted a video on Facebook under the “AfriCare Health Center” profile that falsely claimed he had “Prostatitis.”
According to the lawyer, this action violates his right to privacy, which is safeguarded by Section 37 of the Nigerian Constitution of 1999.
Falana further claims that the publishing was “false, inaccurate, misleading, and unjust” because it included voice subtitles and moving pictures that were purportedly connected to him.
He called for the content to be taken down from the platform immediately, citing a violation of Section 24(1)(a) and (e) of the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023.
Falana is requesting in his court filings a statement that Meta’s publication violated his basic right to privacy.
He is also requesting a general damages award of $5 million for the emotional and reputational harm he has suffered, as well as an order compelling Meta to take down the video.
Falana, a well-known advocate for legal accountability and human rights, expressed grave worry over the misleading content.
He allegedly gave a fake account of his 16-year battle with prostatitis, including symptoms like pain, irritation, and urinary difficulties, in the disputed video.
Falana, however, adamantly maintains that he has never had this illness and did not authorize the production of such material.
“To me, the film and its contents are unjust, deceptive, erroneous, and false. It gives me a bad impression and is an unreasonable invasion of my privacy,” Falana reportedly said in his declaration, according to Sahara Reporters.
He went on to say that because of Meta’s global reach, millions of individuals have seen the fraudulent publication since it was posted in January 2025.
He charged Meta with utilizing his name and image in a negligent and irresponsible manner to increase platform traffic and advertising income.
Legal Consequences and Meta’s Obligation Falana emphasized that Meta’s activities have exposed him to excessive scrutiny, mockery, and harm to his reputation, causing him great emotional suffering.
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Falana claims that although she does not consider these stories to be libellous for the purposes of this lawsuit, she does find them insulting, careless, insensitive, upsetting, and an unreasonable invasion of her privacy because they are made up and false against her.
Because the insinuations in the video are untrue and violate my right to privacy, the respondent’s page has given me notoriety that presents me in a negative light.
The film was posted online for everyone to see at the time of deposing to this affidavit, and it had been there for a few weeks.
I think the respondent’s thoughtless and irresponsible promotion of my name and picture in a misleading light was done to increase traffic to the respondent’s platform and increase its ad revenues since they neglected to check the page and video before publication.
Since the responses never confirmed the accusations as expected, I feel that their use of my name and image in the film is unjust and disrespectful to my feelings.
“I find it extremely disrespectful and emotionally upsetting that the responders have falsely promoted my name and photo. I still feel depressed, anxious, and vulnerable to mockery because of this.
Falana begged the court to save him and to prevent his reputation from being damaged.
