Justice Olalekan Oresanya of an Ikeja High Court has ordered N5million damages against a singer Ikuforijimi Olaitan Abdulrahman, alias Oxlade over a leaked s3x tape with a woman on a social media platform, Snapchat.
In a decision dated 24th January 2023, Justice Oresanya condemned the behaviour of the musician, in surreptitiously filming an explicit s3x with a woman and afterwards leaking it online as “despicable, awful, nasty and classless.”
The sex tape of the artist leaked online in February 2022, without the knowledge and agreement of the woman that was involved in the film.
The leaked video aroused widespread uproar and forced Oxlade to make an apology to his followers and the woman in the video.
The woman, John Blessing had filed a suit before the court on March 15, 2022, seeking N20million damages and a declaration that the respondent’s (Oxlade’s) act of recording his explicit sexual acts without her knowledge and consent amounted to flagrant contravention of enabling laws and a gross violation of her fundamental rights to dignity, privacy and freedom from discrimination guaranteed under Sections 34 and 37 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended); and Articles 5 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (Ratification and Enforcement), Act, CAP A9, LFN, 2004.
Delivering judgment in the suit, Justice Oresanya scolded the singer and admonished him against such behaviour in his relationship with the other sex.
“The action and attitude of the Respondent (Oxlade), who is alleged to be a celebrity, is terrible, horrible, distasteful and classless. The Respondent is exhorted firmly to conduct themself with utmost circumspection in his relationship with fellow humans, especially the opposite sex. “what goes around comes around. I need not say more,” the judge remarked.
In the course of the trial, the judge berated Oxlade for treating the judicial process with disrespect and accused his counsel of enabling him to pollute the temple of justice.
“The attitude of the respondent towards the procedure leaves much to be desired“
The Respondent failed to appear in this court and the only reason given for the respondent’s absence by his former counsel was the celebrity status of the respondent which to my mind cannot be equated to that of many notable celebrity artists in this country who have comported themselves well respectably both within and outside of this country.
“Counsel, as ministers in the temple of justice, shall never encourage any party to a court suit or client in treating the temple of justice with disrespect and disdain no matter the status of the client in the community.
“Client comes and the client goes, the legal profession and institution stay. It is also worrisome to notice as part of the tardiness of the respondent and his counsel that these conditions of the settlement were filed after the Honourable Court had ended the hearing of the matter and on the approach of delivering its Judgment on the merit fixed for January 16, 2023.”Justice Oresanya said
The Justice of the court would have awarded exemplary and aggravated damages far greater than the agreed settlement sum of N5 million against the respondent for the alleged “cruel violation of the privacy of the claimant via the online/internet publication of an explicit sex tape involving the claimant and the respondent on 9th February 2022.”
The judge then entered the Terms of Settlement dated January 11, 2023, as the verdict of the court.
By the consent judgement, Oxlade is to pay the N5 million damages ordered against him to the claimant in two instalments of N2 million and N3 million respectively.
The court judge gave an order of perpetual injunction against the claimant from initiating any further legal process or any process in respect of the facts and matters giving rise to the suit, and from instituting or discussing the issues constituted in the claim on any platform, and before any third party.
Justice Oresanya reprimanded parties, their privies, assigns, agents, successors, legal counsel, and personal representatives agree to maintain the secrecy of any non-public information and materials relevant to the complaint and the Terms of Settlement.
He directed that failure of any party to adhere to the requirements shall entitle the injured party to damages for such breach, including any harms sustained as a result of such disclosure.
