A lawyer, Okpi Bernard Adaafu, has filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja seeking to nullify a health cooperation agreement between Nigeria and the United States.
Gatekeepers News reports that the defendants in the case include the federal government, the attorney-general of the federation, the federal ministry of health and social welfare, the senate president, and the speaker of the house of representatives.
In December 2025, Nigeria and the United States signed a five-year bilateral health memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at strengthening the country’s healthcare system, with a focus on supporting Christian faith-based healthcare providers.
According to the United States Department of State, the agreement is expected to expand access to preventive and curative services, including HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, maternal and child health, and polio interventions.
Under the arrangement, the US government plans to commit nearly $2.1 billion over five years, while Nigeria is expected to increase its domestic health spending by about $3 billion within the same period.
The US also noted that the agreement remains subject to its foreign policy priorities, with its president and secretary of state retaining the authority to pause or terminate programmes that do not align with national interests.
Following the signing, the African Democratic Congress had called on the federal government to clarify the contents of the MoU.
The suit
In court documents, Adaafu alleged that the agreement mandates the Nigerian government to share citizens’ health records with the US government.
He is asking the court to declare the MoU illegal and unconstitutional, arguing that it excludes Nigerians of other religious beliefs.
“A DECLARATION that the Bilateral Health Cooperation Memorandum of Understanding Between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the United States of America on Health, signed on December 19, 2025, is illegal and unconstitutional, having regard to Section 1, 4, 10, 12, 37, and 42 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended),” the suit reads.
He further argued that the agreement violates provisions of the National Health Act 2014 and the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023.
“A DECLARATION that the Bilateral Health Cooperation Memorandum of Understanding… is illegal, having regard to Parts V, VI, VII, and VIII of the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023,” the document added.
Adaafu is also seeking an order of the court to halt the implementation of the agreement, which is scheduled to commence on April 1, 2026.
“AN ORDER of the Honourable Court suspending the operation, enforcement, or implementation” of the MoU, the filing stated.
In an affidavit supporting the suit, the lawyer described any agreement that provides services based on religious affiliation as “unconscionable, immoral, illegal, and unconstitutional, with the sole intent to instigate discord amongst the diverse faith groups in Nigeria”.
