Human rights activist and SaharaReporters publisher, Omoyele Sowore, has filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja against the Department of State Services (DSS), Meta Platforms Inc. (owners of Facebook), and X Corp. (formerly Twitter), challenging what he described as unconstitutional censorship of his social media accounts.
The suit, filed through his lawyer, Tope Temokun, seeks to restrain the DSS from directing global platforms to delete his posts, including one in which he referred to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as a “criminal.”
“These suits were filed to challenge the unconstitutional censorship initiated by the DSS/SSS against Sowore’s accounts maintained with Meta and X,” Temokun said in a statement on Tuesday.
He argued that censorship of political criticism was alien to democracy, noting that Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution guarantees every citizen the right to freedom of expression.
“If state agencies can dictate to global platforms who may speak and what may be said, then no Nigerian is safe. Their voices will be silenced at the whim of those in power,” the statement read.
Sowore’s suit demands declarations that the DSS lacks legal authority to censor Nigerians on social media, that Meta and X must not be used as tools of repression, and that his rights — and those of other Nigerians — be protected from unlawful interference.
The activist maintained that global platforms cannot hide behind neutrality if they bow to unlawful censorship demands. “When they do so, they become complicit in the suppression of liberty,” he said.
Background to the Case
Earlier on Tuesday, SaharaReporters reported that the DSS had filed a five-count criminal charge against Sowore at the registry of the Federal High Court in Abuja. The charges, filed by M.B. Abubakar, Director of Public Prosecutions at the Federal Ministry of Justice, accuse Sowore of defaming President Tinubu by calling him a “criminal” and spreading allegedly false information intended to disturb public peace.
Court documents list as exhibits Sowore’s X posts, Facebook posts, and letters written by the DSS to both platforms requesting deletion of the said content.
The charges, however, have not yet been assigned to any judge, and no date has been fixed for Sowore’s arraignment.
Sowore, a former presidential candidate, has had a long history of clashes with security agencies over his criticisms of successive governments. Last week, the DSS formally wrote to him demanding deletion of the posts, but he refused, insisting that no amount of pressure would deter him from holding leaders accountable.
He described the DSS action as an attempt to turn Nigeria into a “digital dictatorship” and vowed to continue exercising his constitutional right to free speech.
What’s Next
The Federal High Court will now decide on the admissibility of Sowore’s suit against the DSS, Meta, and X, a case that could have significant implications for free speech, digital rights, and state censorship in Nigeria.
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