Lagos High Court Orders X Corp to Disclose Identity of Parody Account Operator, Awards ₦20 Million to Student Over Altered Birthday Post Cyberbullying Case
The High Court of Lagos State, Ikorodu Judicial Division, has delivered a landmark judgment in Suit No. IKD/21207MFHR/2026, addressing digital privacy and data protection under Nigerian law.
On June 5, 2026, in Suit No. IKD/21207MFHR/2026, Hon. Justice A.F. Pokanu ordered the anonymous operator of the parody Twitter/X account @boutmoney112 to pay ₦20 million in damages to Esther Agboola, a student whose birthday post was allegedly manipulated to humiliate her online. The Court further directed X Corp, the platform owner, to disclose the identity of the anonymous user within 14 days, failing which the company would incur a ₦50 million penalty.
The case was brought by Esther Agboola, a student who runs the Twitter/X handle @agirlnamed_esth. According to her affidavit, she posted a set of pictures on January 9, 2026, captioned “Chapter 25. Happy Birthday to me!” to mark her 25th birthday.
She alleged that the operator of the parody account subsequently dug up an old post from January 2025, where she had celebrated her 24th birthday, and digitally altered its timestamp to make it appear the post was originally made in January 2022.
The court found that this manipulation created a false narrative suggesting Agboola had lied about her age, a claim she said triggered a wave of cyberbullying, harassment, public ridicule and mental distress.
Agboola, represented by Dr. Olumide Babalola alongside M. Owodunni and H. Tofi, sued both X Corp (the owner of the platform, as 1st Respondent) and the unidentified account operator (2nd Respondent), seeking declarations, damages, and crucially, an order compelling X Corp to unmask the anonymous user. Neither respondent filed any defence or appeared in court.
The Court held that the unauthorized alteration and republication of Agboola’s post constituted a violation of her constitutional right to privacy under Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), as well as breaches of the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA), 2023. Justice Pokanu cited precedents including Emerging Markets Telecommunication Services Ltd v. Barr Godfrey Eneye (2014) and Digital Rights Lawyers Initiative v. NIMC (2021), affirming that privacy protections extend to personal data and online communications.
The Court emphasized that the timestamp manipulation breached Section 24(1)(a) and (e) of the NDPA, requiring lawful, fair, transparent, and accurate data processing.
As a data controller operating in Nigeria, X Corp bears obligations under the NDPA and the NITDA Code of Practice for Interactive Computer Service Platforms to assist in identifying perpetrators of rights violations.
The court ruled in Agboola’s favour on all counts and ordered:
● ₦20 million in general damages against the anonymous respondent for harassment, reputational injury, and emotional distress.
● A mandatory Affidavit of Disclosure by X Corp, revealing the respondent’s identity and contact details.
● A conditional ₦50 million damages award against X Corp, enforceable upon non‑compliance with the disclosure order.
Legal commentators note that this decision represents one of the most assertive judicial applications of Nigeria’s Data Protection Act, 2023 against a foreign‑domiciled social media company. It expands Nigerian jurisprudence on digital privacy, treating constitutional privacy rights as encompassing personal data shared online.
The ruling signals a growing judicial willingness to compel platforms to unmask anonymous users engaged in harassment or impersonation, aligning Nigerian practice with disclosure orders in other jurisdictions.
Neither X Corp nor the operator of @boutmoney112 filed any defence or appeared in court. Compliance with the disclosure order remains to be seen.
