Nollywood actor Yul Edochie’s estranged wife, May Yul-Edochie, has taken her fight against years of alleged online harassment to a Lagos High Court, naming her former legal representative among those she holds responsible for the attacks.
The lawsuit, brought by her current legal team at Greylaw Partners, is filed against Yinka Omolola Theisen, Emeka Ugwuonye and a number of unnamed operators of social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram and X, seeking permanent injunctions to stop the alleged harassment and to compel the removal of disputed content from all platforms.
One of the suit’s more striking elements is May’s inclusion of a former lawyer. The person had previously acted for her in a legal case and she claims that in revealing information that was learned in that capacity, the person violated solicitor-client confidentiality and weaponized privileged access to her.
To understand why she has been targeted, 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 is a mother of four with him, was caught off guard by the news. The fallout happened almost entirely in the public eye, making May one of the most talked-about figures of Nigerian entertainment that year, and gaining her sympathy and, from some quarters, sustained hostility online.
According to a 126-paragraph affidavit filed in support of her suit, the hostility never stopped. She claims a concerted effort over multiple years, with doctored photos, AI-generated images, fake stories, insulting caricatures and outright death wishes, all intended, she says, to humiliate her and harm her commercial reputation.
Her personal contact details were also leaked online, reportedly exposing her and her family to direct harassment beyond social media.
She tried to resolve the situation out of court. In September 2025, cease-and-desist notices were sent to two of the named defendants, demanding takedowns, public retractions and apologies. Instead, she says, the attacks got more aggressive and new accounts were created specifically to continue the attacks after earlier ones were flagged.
In addition to emotional distress, she is pointing to concrete financial consequences, including lost endorsements, damaged business relationships and reputational harm she says has directly affected her income.
May is seeking ₦1 billion damages from Ugwuonye, ₦500 million from Theisen and court orders compelling social media platforms to identify and disclose information about anonymous account operators of the alleged campaign.
The judge, Justice Abdul-Raheem Tejumade Muyideen, ordered that the processes of the court be served through all known contact channels for the defendants. The matter has been adjourned for service report.
