A Federal High Court sitting in the Federal Capital Territory has granted an interlocutory injunction restraining a United Kingdom-based activist, Dr Sandra Duru, popularly known as Prof Mgbeke, and Meta Platforms Inc., operators of Facebook, from further circulating materials alleged to be defamatory against the senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
The ruling was delivered by Justice I. Mohammed in Suit No: FCT/HC/CV/229/2025, following a motion on notice filed by the claimant, seeking urgent judicial protection against what she described as sustained online attacks on her reputation.
In a Certified True Copy of the ruling sighted by our correspondent on Saturday, the court held that the application raised “a serious question to be tried” and that immediate intervention was required to prevent irreparable damage to the claimant’s reputation, pending the determination of the substantive suit.
Justice Mohammed consequently ordered that the first defendant, Sandra Duru, “either by herself, her agents, privies, or howsoever called, is restrained from further publishing, posting, sharing, disseminating or promoting on Facebook or any other social media platform any material containing defamatory, scandalous, inciteful or injurious content against the Applicant, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.”
In a related order, the court directed Meta Platforms Inc. to “immediately take down and/or disable access to all offending publications, posts or broadcasts made by the 1st Defendant against the Claimant, whether in her personal name or under the pseudonym ‘Prof Mgbeke,’ pending the determination of the suit.”
The court further ordered the social media company to preserve all electronic evidence relevant to the dispute, stating that the second defendant must “preserve, secure, and archive all content, metadata and digital footprints associated with the offending posts and user accounts operated by the 1st Defendant, for the purpose of aiding this Honourable Court in the fair determination of the substantive suit.”
Justice Mohammed emphasised the preservatory nature of injunctions, noting that such orders are designed “to prevent irreparable harm, maintain the status quo ante bellum, and ensure that the subject matter of the dispute is not altered before final judgment.”