Activist politician Omoyele Sowore has filed two fundamental
rights actions at the Federal High Court in Abuja against the Department of
State Services, DSS, Meta, and X Corp, challenging what he described as
unconstitutional censorship of his accounts.
Sowore urged the court to restrain Facebook and X from
deleting his remark calling President Bola Tinubu a criminal.
The lawsuits emphasise the importance of free speech in
Nigeria and warn against state agencies dictating who may speak on global
platforms.
One of Sowore’s lawyers, Tope Temokun, argued that the
Nigerian Constitution guarantees freedom of expression, and no security agency
can suspend or delete these rights.
Sowore also urged Meta and X not to comply with unlawful
censorship demands, insisting that doing so would make them complicit in
suppressing liberty.
He further asked the court to declare that the DSS has no
legal power to censor Nigerians on social media and that Meta and X must not
serve as tools of repression.
The petition reads: “On behalf of our client, Omoyele Sowore
@YeleSowore, we have filed two fundamental rights actions at the Federal High
Court, Abuja, against the State Security Service (SSS) @OfficialDSSNG, @Meta
(owners of @facebook), and @X Corp. (formerly Twitter).
“These lawsuits were filed to challenge the unconstitutional
censorship initiated by the @OfficialDSSNG /SSS against Sowore’s accounts
maintained with Meta and X.
“The lawsuit states categorically that this is about the
survival of free speech in Nigeria. 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 whims of those in power.
“Censorship of political criticism is alien to democracy.
The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, in Section 39, guarantees
every citizen the right to freedom of expression, without interference. No
security agency, no matter how powerful, can suspend or delete those rights.
“Meta and X must also understand that when they bow to
unlawful censorship demands, they become complicit in the suppression of the
struggle for liberty. They cannot hide behind neutrality while authoritarianism
is exported onto their platforms.”
The petition prayed the court:
“That the SSS @OfficialDSSNG has no power in law to censor
Nigerians on social media;
“That Meta and X must not lend their platforms as tools of
repression; and
“That our client’s rights and by extension, the rights of
all Nigerians, be fully protected against unlawful censorship.
“We call on all lovers of freedom, journalists, human rights
defenders, and the Nigerian people to stand firm. Today it is @YeleSowore;
tomorrow it may be you.
“This struggle is not about personalities. It is about
principle. And we shall resist every attempt to turn Nigeria into a digital
dictatorship.”
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