Former presidential candidate and human rights activist Omoyele Sowore has filed two separate fundamental rights lawsuits at the Federal High Court in Abuja, targeting the Department of State Services (DSS) and social media giants Meta (Facebook) and X Corp (formerly Twitter).
Sowore, who contested under the African Action Congress (AAC) in the 2023 general elections, is challenging what his legal team describes as “unconstitutional censorship” of his social media accounts.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Tope Temokun, lead counsel to Sowore, said the legal action aims to confront attempts by state agencies to “dictate to global platforms who may speak and what may be said.”
“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,” Temokun stated.
He emphasized that Section 39 of the Nigerian Constitution guarantees freedom of expression, and that no government agency, including the DSS, has the authority to override these rights.
Sowore’s legal team also criticized Meta and X Corp for what they called a passive role in digital authoritarianism, arguing that the platforms risk becoming “complicit in suppressing the struggle for liberty” if they comply with unlawful government censorship requests.
“They cannot hide behind neutrality while authoritarianism is exported onto their platforms,” the statement added.
The legal team is asking the court to declare that the DSS has no legal authority to censor Nigerians on social media; Meta and X must not act as agents of repression; and by extension, the rights of all Nigerians be fully protected from arbitrary censorship.
The lawsuit follows a five-count charge filed by the DSS and the Federal Ministry of Justice against Sowore at the same court as reported by Toscad news. The charges stem from a social media post critical of President Bola Tinubu, which the DSS described as “false, malicious, and inciting.”
On September 8, the DSS gave Sowore a one-week ultimatum to delete the post, but he refused to comply. Both X Corp and Meta also declined to take down Sowore’s accounts, despite pressure from Nigerian authorities.
“This struggle is not about personalities. It is about principle,” Temokun emphasized. “Today it is @YeleSowore; tomorrow it may be you.”
