Falana sues Meta over alleged privacy invasion, demands $5m damages

Human rights activist and lawyer, Femi Falana, has filed a lawsuit at a Lagos High Court, seeking a declaration that a Facebook advertisement depicting him as suffering from Prostatitis constituted an invasion of his privacy.
Falana, a senior advocate, is demanding $5 million from Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook, based in the United States, as damages from the publication.
Through his lawyer, Olumide Babalola, Falana accused Meta of publishing motion images and voice with the title, “AfriCare Health Center,” on its website, claiming that he suffered a disease known as ‘Prostatitis’.
He said the publication constituted an invasion of his privacy as enshrined in Section 37 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.
He accused the company of wrongfully using his name, image, and voice to falsely attribute an illness to him, thereby violating his right to privacy as guaranteed by the Constitution and the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023.
“In the video that carries my name and picture, I am reported to have said: ‘My name is Femi Falana, and I have been battling prostatitis for over 16 years. At the age of 50, I was diagnosed with this condition. Every day I faced pain, discomfort, and constant fatigue.
“I had trouble urinating, (and I have) lower back pain and other symptoms that make it difficult to live a full life. Despite consulting the best urologist in the country, no one could offer me effective treatment, I was prescribed numerous medications, physical therapy even surgery but the problem was that these methods only temporarily relieved the symptoms,” he explained.
Falana noted that he had never suffered from any condition known as ‘prostatitis’ at any point in his life. He further lamented that the respondent’s video had caused him significant harm and reputational damage.
“For the purpose of this suit, I do not find these stories libellous but since they are false and fabricated against me, I find them offensive, reckless, insensitive, disturbing, and an unjustifiable intrusion into my privacy by painting me in a false light” he said.