Nollywood actress Adunni Ade has secured a landmark legal victory against Google LLC, with a Lagos High Court awarding her N30 million in general damages over the publication of defamatory articles linking her to former Senator Dino Melaye.
The judgment, delivered on July 9, 2025, by Justice I.O. Harrison, found that Google violated the actress’s right to privacy by publishing and retaining stories that painted her in a “false light.”
The court ordered the tech giant to immediately delete two articles titled “How Dino Melaye used fake Patek Watch to woo and knack Actress Adunni Ade back, front and center” and “Actress Adunni Ade involved in heated exchange with famous Instagram blog after being listed among 6 celebrities to have dated Dino Melaye” from all its platforms.
Ade filed the originating summons on July 11, 2024, seeking enforcement of her fundamental right to privacy under Section 37 of the Nigerian Constitution and the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023.
The actress argued that Google’s continued publication of her name and photographs in the articles constituted an invasion of her privacy by “painting her in a false light.”
The court ruled that Google, as a data controller, failed to ensure that the actress’s personal data was processed in a “fair, lawful and transparent manner,” violating Section 24 of the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023.
“The main issue is the association of her name and picture to a false and embarrassing narrative, and this constitutes publication in a false light and is an invasion of her right to privacy,” the judge stated.
Google failed to appear in court or file any response, despite being properly served. The judgment marks a significant victory for public figures seeking to protect their privacy rights in the digital age.
