The Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, held the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) liable for defaming Nigeria’s State Security Service (SSS) and two of its officers, awarding N100 million in damages and ordering a public apology.
Justice Yusuf Halilu delivered the judgment in a suit filed in October 2024 by the SSS and its operatives, Sarah John and Gabriel Ogundele, over allegations that SSS personnel invaded SERAP’s Abuja office in September 2024.
The claimants maintained that the visit was official and lawful, denying any form of invasion or harassment.
They argued that SERAP’s public statements on the incident damaged their reputations and portrayed them as acting unlawfully.
The officers were joined as co-claimants in the case and had sought N5 billion in damages.
SERAP, in its defense, insisted that the operatives’ presence at its office was intrusive and linked to its correspondence with the Presidency on alleged corruption in the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and calls for a review of fuel price adjustments.
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Delivering judgment, Justice Halilu held that the claimants had successfully established defamation. He ruled that publication of the statements was not disputed and that the evidence before the court supported the allegations against SERAP.
The judge further held that although the officers were not explicitly named, the descriptions used in the publication were sufficient to identify them within their professional context.
He found that the statements suggested unlawful conduct and harassment, which he said were injurious to the reputation of the officers and constituted libel.
Justice Halilu also held that SERAP failed to substantiate its claims that the SSS operatives invaded its office.
Consequently, the court awarded N100 million in damages against SERAP and ordered the organization to publish a formal apology in national newspapers and on television stations.
The ruling follows months of proceedings arising from the September 2024 dispute over the presence of SSS operatives at SERAP’s Abuja office.