Court Orders X to Disclose Identity of Parody Account Operator in ₦20m Privacy Case

‎The Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikorodu has ordered X Corp, the owner and operator of the X platform (formerly Twitter), to disclose personal information of the anonymous user of a parody account found liable of violating the data privacy rights of a Nigerian student.
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‎In a judgment delivered in June 2026, a copy of which was recently made public, Justice Adeniyi Pokanu, awarded ₦20 million in general damages against the unidentified operator of the account, (the 2nd respondent in the suit, with username @boutmoney112, over the unauthorized alteration and republication of the applicant’s social media post.
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‎The court also awarded conditional general damages of ₦50 million against X Corp, (the 1st respondent), which will become payable if the company fails, omits, or refuses to comply with the order to disclose the information.
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‎X Corp was ordered to file an Affidavit of Disclosure at the Registry of the Court within fourteen (14) days of the service of the Enrolled Order of the Judgement, stating the Full name, Contact information including email addresses, telephone numbers, and registered social media accounts of the parody account holder, as well as the person’s Means of identification and Any other data held by the 1st Respondent that can identify or locate the 2nd Respondent, for purposes of enforcement of the court’s orders.

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‎The judgment was delivered in a suit filed by a student, Esther Agboola, who operates the X handle @agirlnamed_esth.
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‎The applicant’s originating motion was dated January 25, 2026.
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‎The case is gaining attention as one of the latest Nigerian judicial decisions that addressies the intersection of constitutional privacy rights, personal-data protection and anonymity on social media.
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‎According to the judgment, Agboola posted photographs on January 9, 2026, with the caption, “Chapter 25. Happy Birthday to me!”, to mark her 25th birthday.
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‎She told the court that the operator of @boutmoney112 subsequently retrieved an earlier post she made in January 2025 while celebrating her 24th birthday.
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‎The anonymous user allegedly altered the timestamp of that earlier post to make it appear that it had been published in January 2022.
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‎The court found that the alteration created a false narrative that the student had lied about her age.
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‎According to the applicant’s case, the manipulated post exposed her to cyberbullying, harassment, public ridicule, mental distress and reputational damage.
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‎Agboola consequently approached the court seeking, among other reliefs, declarations that her rights had been violated, damages and an order compelling X Corp to disclose information that could identify the anonymous account operator.
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‎In the court’s findings, Justice Pokanu held that the unauthorised manipulation, alteration and republication of the post violated Agboola’s constitutional right to privacy under Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution.
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‎The court also found that the conduct amounted to unlawful and unfair processing of personal data contrary to Sections 24(1)(a) and 24(1)(e) of the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023.
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‎Section 24(1)(a) requires personal data to be processed lawfully, fairly and transparently, while Section 24(1)(e) requires personal data to be accurate and not misleading.
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‎The judge relied on judicial authorities recognising that the constitutional protection of privacy extends beyond physical spaces to personal information and data.
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‎Among the authorities considered by the court were Emerging Markets Telecommunication Services Ltd v. Barr Godfrey Eneye and Incorporated Trustees of Digital Rights Lawyers Initiative & Ors v. NIMC.
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‎The court directed X Corp to file an Affidavit of Disclosure within 14 days of service of the enrolled order of the judgment.
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‎The affidavit is to disclose information capable of identifying or locating the operator of @boutmoney112, including the person’s full name, contact information, means of identification, and other relevant information held by X Corp.
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‎The judge held that X Corp, as the owner and operator of the platform, controls information and platform activity logs capable of assisting in identifying the anonymous user.
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‎The court also considered a Dutch court order compelling a social media platform to disclose the identity of an anonymous user, which had been relied upon in arguments before it.
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‎Justice Pokanu awarded N20 million in general damages against the unidentified second respondent for the mental anguish, emotional distress, harassment, reputational injury and humiliation suffered by Agboola.
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‎The court also awarded N50 million in general damages against X Corp but made the award conditional on the company’s compliance with the disclosure order.
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‎The ₦50 million will become payable if X Corp fails, omits or refuses to file the required Affidavit of Disclosure.
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‎The judgment therefore grants Agboola both monetary relief against the anonymous user and a court-backed mechanism for obtaining information capable of revealing the person’s identity.
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‎The applicant was represented by Dr Olumide Babalola and two others.
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‎According to the judgment, there was no legal representation for the 1st and 2nd defendants in the suit.
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