The Court of Appeal in Abuja has directed two officers of the Department of State Services (DSS) to file their respondents’ brief within 48 hours in an appeal by a director of the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), Kolawole Oluwadare. The appellant is challenging a N100 million defamation judgment against him and the organisation. This judgment was awarded by the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja.
The court issued the directive during proceedings in the appeal against a judgment delivered by Justice Yusuf Halilu on May 5, 2026. The judgment awarded N100 million damages against SERAP and Oluwadare over publications concerning an alleged invasion of the organisation’s Abuja office by security operatives in September 2024. The appeal challenges the judgment, including the award of damages and an order directing SERAP and Oluwadare to publish an apology.
SERAP and Oluwadare are asking the appellate court to set aside the judgment, arguing that the claimants failed to establish that the publications identified them or that the statements complained of were defamatory. During Friday’s proceedings, counsel to Oluwadare informed the Court of Appeal that the appeal was not ripe for hearing because the appellants’ brief had only been filed on Thursday.
The court, which had earlier reserved judgment in a related appeal, subsequently halted further proceedings after finding that the appeals were not ripe for hearing. It then directed the two DSS officers to file their respondents’ brief by Monday morning and serve Oluwadare’s lawyers. Oluwadare was directed to file his reply brief by Tuesday morning.
In his brief of argument filed through his counsel, Tayo Oyetibo (SAN), SERAP raised 24 grounds of appeal challenging the trial court’s findings on identification, falsity, liability, the admissibility and weight of evidence, and the application of constitutional protections for freedom of expression. The organisation argued that neither publication identified the two DSS officers by name, rank, designation, or photograph.
SERAP further contended that no independent witness testified that members of the public had read the publications and understood them to refer specifically to the two officers. It also challenged the trial court’s reliance on its own observation of the claimants’ physical appearance, arguing that the relevant question was whether reasonable readers could identify them from the publications when they were published.
The dispute arose from publications issued by SERAP on September 9, 2024, alleging that security operatives had entered its Abuja office after the organisation called on President Bola Tinubu to investigate alleged corruption at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and reverse increases in fuel prices. The organisation maintained that the findings on reputational injury and the damages awarded were unsupported by sufficient evidence.
Key points
- The Court of Appeal in Abuja has given the DSS officers 48 hours to file their respondents’ brief in the appeal by SERAP director Kolawole Oluwadare.
- Oluwadare is challenging a N100 million defamation judgment against him and SERAP.
- The judgment was awarded over publications concerning an alleged invasion of SERAP’s Abuja office by security operatives.
