In a landmark judgment reinforcing the digital privacy rights of Nigerians, the High Court of Lagos State, Ikorodu Judicial Division, has ordered social media giant, X Corp (formerly Twitter) to disclose the identity of an anonymous user behind a parody account used for cyberbullying.
The trial judge, Adeniyi Funsho Pokanu, made the declaration in a judgement delivered on Friday, June 5, 2026, and obtained by The Guardian at the weekend.
The decision was made following a suit marked IKD/21207MFHR/2026 filed by Esther Agboola, a student and active user of the platform.
The court held that the unauthorised manipulation of personal data on social media constitutes a direct infringement of the constitutional right to privacy.
The legal battle began after the claimant posted photos on January 9, 2026, to celebrate her 25th birthday.
Subsequently, the 2nd respondent, an unknown individual operating the parody account @boutmoney112, accessed Agboola’s timeline and retrieved a post from January 2025, where she celebrated her 24th birthday.
The court heard that the 2nd respondent altered the timestamp of the 2025 post to reflect “January 2022,” creating a false narrative that the claimant had lied about her age.
This manipulated content was republished, triggering what the claimant described as “massive cyberbullying, harassment, and reputational damage.”
Represented by Dr Olumide Babalola, the claimant argued that these actions violated Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees the privacy of citizens, and multiple sections of the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA) 2023.
Justice Pokanu, in his resolution, affirmed that the “constitutional privacy of citizens” is not limited to physical spaces but extends to personal informational spaces on social and electronic media.
The judge noted that Nigerian jurisprudence now recognises “personal informational autonomy,” meaning that individuals have the right to be free from uninvited intrusions into their private digital lives.
The court further held that the 2nd respondent’s actions were “arbitrary and malicious”, weaponising personal data as a tool for harassment in violation of Section 24(1)(a) of the NDPA, which requires personal data to be processed fairly, lawfully, and transparently.
Justice Pokanu observed that while the NDPA focuses on data controllers, the court has inherent powers to compel platforms like X Corp to disclose user identity where there is clear evidence of unlawful activity and significant harm.
The court subsequently ordered X Corp to file an affidavit within 14 days of the service of the order, revealing the full name, contact information, and means of identification of the individual behind the @boutmoney112 account.
The court, therefore, awarded N20 million against the 2nd respondent for the mental anguish and humiliation suffered by Agboola.
In a move to ensure compliance, the court also awarded N50 million in general damages against X Corp, payable only if the platform “fails, omits or refuses” to file the mandated affidavit of disclosure.
Justice Pokanu held that the violation arose not from the mere posting of information, but from the contextual misuse of data to create a misleading impression, which is integrally linked to human dignity.
Neither X Corp nor the unknown 2nd respondent was represented by legal counsel during the proceedings.
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