Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja has returned two appeals filed by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, challenging a defamation judgment that could cost them about ₦101 million, for reassignment to the Presiding Justice of the court.
The three-member panel, led by Justice Danlami Senchi, made the decision on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, after determining that both appeals arose from the same judgment of the Federal Capital Territory High Court and should be heard together.
The development means the earlier order reserving judgment in SERAP’s appeal has been vacated, and a fresh hearing date will be communicated to the parties.
The appeals challenge a May 5, 2026, judgment by Justice Yusuf Halilu of the FCT High Court, which found SERAP liable for defaming two operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS), now commonly referred to as the State Security Service (SSS).
The trial court awarded ₦100 million in damages in favour of the two officers and ordered the defendants to publish apologies in national newspapers and on television, as well as on SERAP’s website. The judgment also included ₦1 million in litigation costs and 10 per cent annual interest until payment.
The dispute arose from publications SERAP made in September 2024 after calling on President Bola Tinubu to investigate alleged corruption at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and reverse fuel price increases.
SERAP had alleged that security operatives entered its Abuja office without proper notice and harassed a staff member. In its publications, the organisation described two officers by their physical appearances rather than identifying them by name.
The officers subsequently instituted a defamation suit, arguing that the publications referred to them and harmed their reputations.
SERAP and Oluwadare are asking the Court of Appeal to overturn the judgment. Their lawyers argue that the claimants did not provide sufficient credible evidence to establish that the descriptions in the publications identified them specifically.
SERAP has also challenged the trial court’s findings on liability, the damages awarded and the orders requiring public apologies. It maintains that the judgment was legally and procedurally flawed.
During Tuesday’s proceedings, the panel also considered applications by Columbia University’s Global Freedom of Expression Initiative, United Nations special rapporteurs and the Southern African Litigation Centre to participate as amici curiae, or friends of the court.
The applicants sought permission to provide independent legal submissions on issues relating to freedom of expression and other fundamental rights. However, after the panel indicated that it did not consider their intervention necessary, the applicants withdrew their applications.
The court also expressed concerns about the way an application in Oluwadare’s appeal had been presented. His counsel subsequently withdrew the application after the panel indicated that it could not grant the prayers in their existing form.
The court then directed that the two appeal files be returned to the Presiding Justice of the Abuja Division for reassignment and the scheduling of a fresh hearing.
The decision is not a final ruling on the merits of SERAP’s appeal. The organisation and its deputy director will have another opportunity to challenge the lower court’s judgment when the appeals are heard.
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