Tonto Dikeh Sued for ₦200 Million Over Alleged Exorcism of Schoolgirl

A Nollywood actress, Tonto Dikeh, is facing legal action regarding an alleged religious deliverance performed on a schoolgirl, with a human rights lawyer seeking ₦200 million in compensation for supposed violations of the child’s fundamental rights.

The lawsuit, initiated by human rights attorney Ikechukwu Obasi, was filed at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja. It relates to an incident alleged to have taken place on March 6, 2026, and is based on the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules 2009, representing a Junior Secondary School 1 student from JSS Durumi II, Abuja, who hails from Rivers State.

Court documents indicate that the lawyer claims the actress subjected the minor to a damaging ritual and subsequently shared recordings of the event online.

"On March 6, 2026, I came across disturbing footage and images on Tonto Dikeh's official Facebook page, showing her conducting an aggressive religious exorcism on a schoolgirl, where the child was laid on bare ground and pressed against a hard surface, despite the actress's artificial nails; this act included harassing and publicly shaming the child," the lawyer contended.

Obasi expressed that the alleged conduct amounted to degrading treatment and poses a risk of lasting psychological harm to the child.

"The actions of the Respondent not only constituted degrading treatment but also exposed the child to public shame and potentially unquantifiable trauma," the lawsuit claims.

Furthermore, the legal filing argues that sharing the footage on social media without consent breaches the girl's privacy rights under Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Child Rights Act of 2003.

The lawyer contended that depicting the student as possessed could lead to further stigma, ridicule, and discrimination from her peers.

Besides the ₦200 million sought in damages, the lawsuit requests the court to recognize that the alleged actions infringed upon the child’s constitutional right to dignity and personal privacy.

Additionally, the case demands an order for Dikeh to remove all related video and images from her social media accounts, issue an unreserved apology in three national newspapers, and permanently cease similar religious practices involving Nigerian children.

The application also calls for a judicial declaration that any incident of child exorcism or harmful ritual masquerading as spiritual deliverance violates the fundamental rights of children in Nigeria.