Nollywood actress Adunni Ade has secured a legal victory against Google after a Lagos High Court awarded her N30 million in damages over defamatory articles that falsely linked her romantically to former Kogi senator Dino Melaye.
The actress announced the judgment on Instagram, sharing a copy of the court’s decision alongside the caption: “Adunni Ade Vs Google. Not every battle needs a response. Some need a courtroom. Unto the next.”
The judgement, delivered on 9 July 2025 by Justice I.O. Harrison of the Lagos High Court, ordered Google to remove the offending publications from Google.com and YouTube and awarded Ade N30 million in general damages.
Ade filed the suit against Google and Meta in July 2024, seeking N100 million in damages over articles she described as defamatory and misleading.
The case centred on two online publications that alleged she had been romantically involved with Melaye. The actress argued that the stories were false, inaccurate and damaging to her reputation, adding that they violated her constitutional right to privacy and caused her emotional and psychological distress.
Court documents showed that Meta was removed from the suit in April 2025 after Ade discontinued proceedings against the company following its preliminary objection.
However, the court ruled against Google, holding that the principal violation stemmed from the use of Ade’s name and photograph in connection with false and embarrassing claims.
Justice Harrison ordered Google to delete the articles and remove all references to the actress from its platforms without delay.
‘It is trite that damages, when violation of fundamental right is established, needs no further proof. The Court will thus award the Applicant the sum of N30,000,000.00 as general damages’, the judgment stated.
The latest ruling comes only months after Ade recorded another courtroom success, with the Lagos High Court awarding her N20 million in damages in a separate privacy breach case.
