General News
Falana Wins $25,000 Damages from Meta over Fake Illness Video
Lagos High Court at TBS has awarded $25,000 in damages in favour of Mr. Femi Falana (SAN) in his $5 million lawsuit against Meta Platforms Inc., the US-based technology company owned by Mark Zuckerberg, over the alleged invasion of his privacy.
Early in 2025, a video was published on Facebook claiming that Falana was suffering from a terminal illness, which prompted the suit
Delivering judgment on Tuesday, January 13, Justice Olalekan Oresanya held that a global technology company such as Meta, which hosts pages for commercial benefit, owes a duty of care to persons affected by content disseminated on its platform.
Falana, through his lawyer, Mr. Olumide Babalola, accused Meta of publishing motion images and voice captions titled “AfriCare Health Centre” on its platform, suggesting that he suffered from a disease known as prostatitis.
He argued that the publication constituted an invasion of his privacy as guaranteed under Section 37 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).
Falana said the false video about his health status had tarnished his image and reputation built over the years.
He also contended that the publication, which he described as false, offensive and disturbing, painted him in a false light and caused him mental and emotional distress.
In its judgment, the court rejected the argument that digital platforms can rely solely on “hosting” or “intermediary” defences where the platform monetises content and the harm arising from misinformation is reasonably foreseeable.
Falana’s lawyer said the decision reinforces a standard of platform accountability under Nigerian law, aligning with emerging global jurisprudence.
The court further held that “the fact that the applicant is a public figure does not rob him of his right to privacy.” It found that the publication of false medical information intruded into the claimant’s private life, regardless of his public standing.
Babalola said the finding settles an important misconception in Nigerian legal practice and affirms that health data enjoys heightened protection, even for public figures.
The court also held that Meta determines the means and purposes of processing content, monetises pages, and controls distribution algorithms, thereby acting as a joint data controller with page owners.
Consequently, Meta was held vicariously liable for the offensive video.
Babalola said: “This is a major development under the NDPA and weakens the ‘mere platform’ defence traditionally relied upon by Big Tech.”
The court further ruled that Meta breached Section 24 of the NDPA by processing personal data that was inaccurate, harmful, lacked a lawful basis and was unfair to the learned Senior Advocate. The false health information was held to amount to unlawful processing per se.
It emphasised that where the risk of inaccuracy is foreseeable, particularly in relation to sensitive personal data, a platform owes a heightened duty to ensure accuracy and integrity.
The court held that Meta failed to deploy adequate safeguards to prevent or mitigate the harm.
As a global technology company with vast resources, Meta was expected to implement effective content-review mechanisms, rapid takedown processes and safeguards proportionate to the risks posed by misinformation. Its failure to do so, the court held, amounted to regulatory non-compliance.
Dangote Petroleum Refinery is reportedly nearing completion of a $2.5 billion private placement that values the company at about $40 billion ahead of its planned public listing.
Private placement is the direct sale of company shares or bonds to pre-selected investors instead of the general public and it is used to raise money quickly while avoiding strict public reporting rules.
People familiar with the transaction said investors acquired as much as 6 per cent of the refinery, according to a BusinessDay report.
The reported terms would value the business at approximately $40 billion.
Neither Dangote Group nor the refinery has publicly announced the final amount raised, the identities of most subscribers or the precise percentage sold.
The figures should therefore be treated as transaction details supplied by unnamed sources rather than confirmed company disclosures.
The reported $2.5 billion total is nevertheless significant as it indicates strong demand for exposure to a privately controlled refinery that has rapidly become central to Nigeria’s fuel supply and an increasingly important exporter of petroleum products.
The placement was said to have attracted more demand than the available shares, allowing the company to secure substantially more than the amount initially associated with the fundraising exercise.
Femi Otedola, chairman, First HoldCo, is the only major participant publicly identified in the report.
He reportedly committed $100 million to the transaction and sold his investment in Geregu Power Plc to finance the acquisition.
Nigeria’s pension industry was also reportedly cleared to participate.
Access to more than $17 billion in retirement assets would broaden the refinery’s potential investor base beyond wealthy individuals and conventional institutional buyers.
Participation by Pension Fund Administrators would, however, require careful attention to valuation, liquidity and portfolio-concentration limits.
Retirement funds must balance the attraction of a large Nigerian industrial asset against their responsibility to protect contributors’ savings.
The implied $40 billion valuation represents investor expectations about the refinery’s future earnings rather than only the physical cost of constructing the facility.
Its ability to process 650,000 barrels of crude daily gives it a central role in supplying Nigeria and other markets, but its commercial performance remains connected to crude availability, product prices, exchange rates and regulation.
The refinery has struggled to obtain all the Nigerian crude it requires under the government’s naira-for-crude arrangement.
It has consequently purchased some feedstock internationally and recently moved local petroleum-product pricing into dollars to align sales revenue more closely with its foreign-currency expenses.
Those constraints will be important during any public offering.
Prospective shareholders will want greater clarity on crude-supply contracts, debt, operating margins, export revenue and the company’s relationship with Nigerian regulators.
It is also unclear whether the private placement involved newly issued shares, a sale by existing owners or a combination of both.
That distinction determines whether the reported $2.5 billion becomes fresh capital for the refinery or proceeds received by selling shareholders.
The transaction could provide a useful price reference for the planned initial public offering.
Federal government will next month launch Nigeria’s first national organized crime strategy to strengthen the country’s response to terrorism, cybercrime, human and drug trafficking, kidnapping, illicit financial flows, and other forms of organized crime.
Major General Adamu Laka, national coordinator of the National Counter Terrorism Centre under the Office of the National Security Adviser, disclosed this in Abuja during the validation of the strategy document.
He said the strategy provides a coordinated national framework for tackling organized crime through improved intelligence sharing, stronger collaboration among security agencies, and closer cooperation with the criminal justice system, civil society organizations, and international partners.
Major General Laka explained that the document was developed through a partnership involving the Federal Government, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the United States Government, and other stakeholders.
Speaking at the event, Cheikh Toure, UNODC representative, said the strategy would strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to combat transnational crimes, including drug trafficking, cybercrime, human trafficking, kidnapping, and illicit financial flows.
Also speaking, Douglas Grane, acting director of the United States Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, reaffirmed the U.S. government’s support for Nigeria’s efforts to tackle organized crime through stronger inter-agency and international cooperation.
Representatives of the National Institute for Strategic Studies, the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit, and the National Cyber Security Centre also endorsed the initiative, describing it as a major step towards improving Nigeria’s fight against organized crime.
FATE Foundation, with funding from the Citi Foundation, has launched the Youth Entrepreneurship Incubation Programme to equip young people in Nigeria with financial literacy and entrepreneurship skills.
Delivered through free, safe, and accessible platforms, the programme supports the incubation and scaling of youth-led enterprises, enabling income generation and job creation.
In October 2025, FATE Foundation was selected as a recipient of Citi Foundation’s 2025 Global Innovation Challenge to Accelerate Youth Employability. Joining the cohort of 50 organisations globally, the Foundation will receive $500,000 over two years to advance its youth employability initiative.
“We are excited to be selected for Citi Foundation’s 2025 Global Innovation Challenge,” said Ayomide Akindolie-Igwe, Executive Director of FATE Foundation.
“This support enables us to equip young entrepreneurs in Nigeria with the financial literacy and skills needed to build and scale sustainable businesses.”
The programme addresses youth employability by tackling Africa’s growing jobs crisis. By 2030, the African continent will be home to 40% of the world’s youth, and with one in three under 35 already unemployed, this initiative will support Nigerian youth with a two-phase approach. It begins with financial literacy training before progressing to entrepreneurship development, incubation support, and access to tools needed to build viable, job-creating businesses.
“Through this innovative initiative, FATE Foundation is supporting low-income Nigerian youth to develop essential financial and entrepreneurial skills using accessible platforms.
“This support is not just helping individuals to succeed; it is building a solid foundation for sustainable enterprises that will drive job creation and contribute significantly to our nation’s economic vitality. This initiative is empowering and investing in the future of Nigeria, one youth at a time,” said Nneka Enwereji, MD/CEO Citibank Nigeria Limited.
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