Court to deliver judgment in DSS N5 Billion defamation suit against SERAP

Crime Diary

ABUJA, Nigeria (NPA) — A Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja is set to deliver judgment tomorrow, Tuesday, 5 May 2026, in the N5 billion defamation lawsuit filed by the Department of State Services (DSS) against the Socio‑Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP).

The case stems from SERAP’s allegation that the DSS unlawfully invaded its Abuja office on 9 September 2024, shortly after the organisation called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to probe alleged corruption in the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and reverse the increase in petrol pump prices.

In its defence, SERAP, represented by senior lawyers Tayo Oyetibo, SAN and Ebun‑Olu Adegboruwa, SAN, insisted that the DSS invasion was unlawful and described the suit as frivolous and vexatious. The organisation argued that the publication in question was directed at the DSS as Nigeria’s secret security agency, not at individual officials.

SERAP further alleged that DSS operatives stormed its office, interrogated staff, demanded official documents, and concealed their identities. It cited evidence from its visitor’s book showing discrepancies in the names used by DSS officials during the visit.

In a statement today, SERAP condemned the lawsuit as a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP), warning that such practices undermine the 1999 Nigerian Constitution [as amended] and the country’s international human rights obligations. “These authoritarian practices will surely fail and those perpetrating them will be held to account,” the group said.

The DSS, however, has maintained that its visit to SERAP’s office was part of a “routine investigation,” though observers note contradictions in its public statements and legal filings.

The judgment, expected tomorrow, is anticipated to set a significant precedent in the ongoing debate over the limits of state power, civil society activism, and freedom of expression in Nigeria.