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In February 2026, a young OAU student, Adewale Adeola Adeife, was on WhatsApp arguing about the Mirabel rape case in which a woman reported being raped inside her own home by a man she had previously rejected. Ojuko David Adefesobi had reshared a post on his WhatsApp status stating “not all men are rapists” in response to the case. Adeife countered the narrative, stating the rhetoric has been used to derail conversations about rape whenever a survivor speaks up.
“Have I ever seen you post about a rape victim?” Adeife questioned David during the WhatsApp discourse, adding that, “It is not all men, but it is always a man.” As the argument intensified, Adeife asked people to avoid David, tagging him “ a rapist.”
Following the escalation of the issues, Adeife acknowledged the error and, on February 19, released an apology video retracting the label. On February 20, she attended a virtual family meeting that David joined. On February 22, her family physically travelled to Ile-Ife, including her mother, who begged on her behalf in person.
However, this would not rectify the situation. On the same February 22, Adefesobi’s lawyers, K.C. Anekwe & Associates, filed a ₦15 million defamation suit against Adeife. They demanded a written apology, a full retraction, and compliance within 14 days or face court action.
On February 24, Adeife released a second, more comprehensive apology video, stating that David had only shared an opinion and had never raped anyone, and that their argument had led her to speak carelessly. With the issue becoming a national conversation, attracting criticism, Adeife began to nurse suicidal thoughts, and reports indicated she attempted suicide. Unmoved, David and his legal team proceeded with legal recourse against the young advocate.
Adeife is not the only young advocate to face litigation for advocating for women. Fareedah Afolabi (@faree_for_real) advocated on behalf of someone on her X platform who had been a beneficiary of the #10kLaptopsProject, a youth empowerment initiative run by Dr Ayilola Ayotomiwa. She posted that the beneficiary had complained of receiving a second-hand device.
Rather than clarification and accountability, Dr Ayotomiwa’s lawyers filed a lawsuit against Fareedah on December 10, 2025. The letter demanded an immediate retraction, a public apology on her X handle, and the disclosure of her source within seven days. Dr Ayotomiwa further demanded ₦20 million in compensation and a compulsory apology published on media platforms such as Punch, Vanguard, and Tribune.
However, Fareedah didn’t cower. She engaged a team of lawyers who responded to the lawsuit, highlighting that the letter contained defamatory and exaggerated remarks against her, falsely accusing her of editing a WhatsApp message.
The counterclaim also revealed that Dr Ayotomiwa had publicly admitted to lacking structure for the initiative and demanded a public apology within seven days on X and in the same three newspapers for false accusation.
Despite the clarification, Dr Ayotomiwa proceeded with a civil action against the young advocate. Court documents dated December 18, 2025, show that Dr Ayotomiwa had filed a lawsuit against Fareedah at the High Court of Ondo State, Akure Judicial Division, case number HCAK/547/CIV/2025. The claims include ₦20 million in general damages for libel, ₦5 million in aggravated and exemplary damages for her conduct after receiving the pre-action notice, and ₦2 million in solicitor’s fees, for a total of ₦27 million.
Beyond Fareedah, another women’s rights activist, Ayomide Agboola (@chubbiedivah), had been arrested by a Nigerian celebrity during an online conversation focused on women’s rights.
On September 24, 2025, she posted allegations on X that popular Nigerian musician Paul Okoye, popularly known as Rudeboy, had coerced a domestic worker into sex. The narrative had previously been published in mainstream media.
However, the celebrity threatened to find her, using “every necessary means, power, resources and money,” until she “leaves the surface of this earth and relocate to space.” The musician then contacted an X influencer, Ayo Eniola Salako (@UnkleAyo), who doxxed the young advocate.
Salako publicly circulated her full name and Instagram account, offered to obtain her phone number through contacts at the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), tagged her employer Jobberman, demanding to know whether disciplinary action would be taken against her, and urged followers to make her uncomfortable both online and offline. He pledged a portion of his next salary toward Rudeboy’s threatened legal action.
Reports, however, suggested that Rudeboy had her arrested, although he denied claims that she had been sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment.
Research shows that women’s rights advocates are increasingly facing harm. In addition to doxxing and cyberbullying, they are also becoming legally vulnerable to lawsuits during their course of activism. UN Women reports that women activists have been subjected to strategic lawsuits against public participation known as SLAPPs by powerful individuals and businesses in attempts to intimidate and silence them.
In Thailand, three women human rights defenders were taken to court on criminal defamation charges after they posted on social media in support of migrant workers facing abuse, part of a pattern of 39 retaliatory lawsuits filed by one company against 23 individuals since 2016.
The consequences extend far beyond the courtroom. According to Harvard Law’s Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review, an advocacy group for student survivors of sexual violence found that 23% of students who filed complaints were threatened with defamation suits, and the threat alone, even without a filed case, was enough to accomplish the goal of silencing them.
Experts recommend that advocates receive formal training to guide their activism and reduce the likelihood of defamatory remarks. According to OpenGlobalRights, feminist movements must place digital security firmly at the centre of their engagement with the internet, reframing training not as a response to fear, but as a practice of skills-building, confidence, and solidarity.
