A Lagos State High Court, Southwest Nigeria has awarded N5m damages against a singer, Ikuforijimi Abdulrahman, aka Oxlade, over a leaked explicit sex tape with a woman on a social media app, Snapchat.

A sex tape of the singer went viral online in February 2022, and the artiste later apologised to his fans.

On March 15, 2022, a claimant in the suit, Blessing, filed a suit before the court demanding N20 million in damages.

She also sought a declaration that the respondent’s (Oxlade) act of recording their sexual acts without her knowledge and consent amounted to a 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.

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But delivering judgement in the suit, on January 24, 2023, Justice O. A. Oresanya, condemned the action of the singer, describing the secret recording of the explicit sex and leaking the same online as “despicable, horrendous, distasteful and classless,” The PUNCH reports.

The paper reported that before the judgement, counsels for the claimant and the respondents, E. T. Idemudia, O. S. Mabekoje and U. R. Michael respectively, had after they announced their appearances, told the court that both parties had agreed to opt for amicable resolution via a consent judgement.

Giving his judgement, the visibly angry Justice Oresanya reprimanded the respondent, describing his action as distasteful and classless.

The court held, “The action and attitude of the respondent (Oxlade), who is said to be a celebrity, is despicable, horrendous, distasteful and classless. The respondent is admonished strongly to act with utmost circumspection in his relationship with fellow humans, especially the opposite sex. What goes around comes around. I need not say more.”

Justice Oresanya also faulted Oxlade for treating the judicial process with disrespect and accused his lawyer of aiding him to desecrate the temple of justice.

Oxlade had failed to show up in court.

The judge said, “The respondent failed to appear in this court and the only reason given for the respondent’s absence by his erstwhile counsel was the celebrity status of the respondent, which to my mind cannot be equated to that of many notable celebrity artistes in this country who have comported themselves well respectably both within and outside of this country.”

The judge thereafter entered the terms of settlement dated January 11, 2023, as the judgment of the court.

“By the consent judgement, Oxlade is to pay damages to the tune of N5m to the claimant in two instalments of N2m and N3m respectively,” Oresanya added.

SOURCE: Sahara Report