By Zainab Ibrahim
Nollywood actress and filmmaker Eniola Ajao has spoken out for the first time about her decision to take legal action against blogger Adabasioni Oluwafemi Aseoro, accusing him of manipulating footage from the burial of Ambassador Odunlade Adekola’s father with the intent to damage her reputation.
Ajao says the ordeal began when she attended the funeral of the late PA N.A. Adekola, father of celebrated actor Odunlade Adekola, and another blogger recorded video that captured her presence. According to her, the video was subsequently altered by Adabasioni in a way that falsely portrayed her actions, turning something innocent into fodder for ridicule and malicious gossip.
After enduring years of trolling from bloggers and social media users, Ajao felt this was a line crossed. She explains that the manipulated video spread rapidly online, without anyone questioning the veracity of its content. Disturbed by the misrepresentation, she consulted with her media and legal team and decided to fight back legally.
Adabasioni was arrested and prosecuted under the Nigerian Cybercrime Act on counts of criminal defamation and cyberbullying. When pressed to provide evidence supporting the claims implicit in the doctored video, he failed. As a result, he was detained for two weeks in Ikoyi prison. Eventually, upon pleas from friends and family and after several interventions, he issued an apology and retracted the defamatory content.
Ajao has used the case to emphasize the seriousness of defamation, especially in the online era. She warns bloggers and content creators that manipulating content for clicks and traffic especially with intent to mock or humiliate, can have consequences. She expresses gratitude to those who backed her during the ordeal, including CSP Mariam Ogunmolasuyi, who helped with the legal processes, and human rights activist Aghedo Kehinde Stephen, who stood up for her publicly.
In her statement, Ajao addressed the online trolls who treat social media as a space without accountability. She stressed that free speech does not mean freedom to harm, degrade or misrepresent others. She also noted that while she’s a gentle person, her kindness should not be mistaken for passivity. She warned that anyone who knowingly publishes defamatory content even from abroad is not beyond reach of the law.
Eniola Ajao’s case has become a talking point about the risks of viral content, especially when it is manipulated, whether for humor, gossip, clicks, or reach. It raises important questions about ethics in reporting, accountability for bloggers, and the protection of individual dignity in a digital age where “seeing is believing” is often twisted.
It remains to be seen whether the case will lead to stronger legal precedents or further reform in how bloggers and digital media outlets are regulated. But Ajao’s message is clear: character assassination under the guise of entertainment, or engagement, has a price and she intends to see justice done.
