Court Awards N5million Damages Against Singer Oxlade Over Leaked Sex Tape

The lady who dragged singer Ikuforijimi Olaitan Abdulrahman, popularly known as Oxlade, to court over their leaked sex tape has been awarded N5 million in damages by Justice Olalekan Oresanya of an Ikeja High Court.

On March 15, 2022, the lady, John Blessing, filed a lawsuit against the singer, seeking N20 million in damages and a declaration that the respondent’s (Oxlade) act of recording his explicit sexual acts without her knowledge and consent amounted to a 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 Article 5 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (Ratification and Enforcement), Act, CAP A9, LFN, 2004.

Justice Oresanya, delivering judgment on the case, said the singer secretly recording himself having sex with John Blessing before it was leaked online was despicable, horrendous, distasteful, and classless.

Aside from cautioning the singer against repeating such behavior, the Judge also chastised Oxlade for disrespecting the judicial process and accused his lawyer of assisting him in desecrating the temple of justice.

“The action and attitude of the respondent (Oxlade), who is said to be a celebrity, are despicable, horrendous, distasteful, and classless.” The respondent is strongly advised to exercise extreme caution in his interactions with other humans, particularly those of the opposite sexes, because “what goes around comes around.” I need not say more.

The attitude of the respondent towards the proceeding 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 his celebrity status, which to my mind cannot be equated to that of many notable celebrity artists in this country who have conducted themselves well and respectably both within and outside of this country.

“Counseling, as ministers in the temple of justice, should never encourage any party to a lawsuit or client, regardless of the client’s social status, to treat the temple of justice with disrespect and disdain.”

“The client comes and goes, but the legal profession and institution endure.” It is also disturbing to note as part of the tardiness of the respondent and his counsel, that these terms of the settlement were filed after the Honorable Court had concluded the hearing of the matter and was on the verge of delivering its judgment on the merits, fixed for January 16, 2023″, the judge said.

According to the judge, 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 who entered the Terms of Settlement dated January 11, 2023, as the judgment of the court, ordered Oxlade to pay the N5 million damages awarded against him to the claimant in two installments of N2 million and N3 million respectively.