May Edochie Sues Ex-Lawyer, Others For N1.5bn Over Alleged Privacy Breach

May Yul-Edochie, estranged wife of Nollywood actor Yul Edochie, has taken her battle against years of alleged online harassment to a Lagos High Court, naming her former legal representative among those she blames for the attacks.

The lawsuit, filed by her current legal team at Greylaw Partners, is against Yinka Omolola Theisen, Emeka Ugwuonye and several unnamed operators of social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram and X, and seeks permanent injunctions to stop the alleged harassment and to compel the removal of disputed content from all platforms.

One of the suit’s more curious aspects is May’s inclusion of a former lawyer. The person had acted for her in a legal case and she claims that in revealing information learned in that capacity, the person violated solicitor-client confidentiality and weaponized privileged access to her.

To understand why she has come under attack, we need to go back to 2022, when Yul Edochie announced publicly that he had taken a second wife, actress Judy Austin, with whom he had fathered a child.

May, who has been married to Yul for 20-plus years and has four children with him, was caught off guard by the news. The fallout was almost entirely public, turning May into one of the most talked-about figures in Nigerian entertainment that year, garnering her sympathy and, in some quarters, sustained hostility online.

The hostility never stopped, according to a 126-paragraph affidavit filed in support of her suit. She alleges a sustained campaign over several years, involving doctored photographs, AI-generated images, fabricated stories, defamatory caricatures and death threats, all intended, she says, to humiliate her and damage her commercial standing.

Her personal contact details were also leaked online, reportedly exposing her and her family to direct harassment outside of social media.

She had tried to solve the situation without going to court. In September 2025, two of the named defendants received cease-and-desist notices demanding takedowns, public retractions and apologies. Instead, she says, the attacks became more aggressive and new accounts were created specifically to continue the attacks after earlier ones were flagged.

In addition to emotional distress, she points to tangible financial consequences, including lost endorsements, damaged business relationships and reputational harm she claims has directly affected her income.

May is demanding ₦1 billion in damages from Ugwuonye, ₦500 million from Theisen, and court orders requiring social media platforms to identify and disclose information about the operators of anonymous accounts involved in the alleged campaign.

Justice Abdul-Raheem Tejumade Muyideen ordered that the court’s processes be served through all known contact channels for the defendants. The matter has been adjourned for service report.