THE 2023 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) and convener of the #RevolutionNow movement, Omoyele Sowore, has initiated two fundamental rights suits at the Federal High Court in Abuja, targeting the Department of State Services (DSS), Meta (Facebook), and X Corp.
According to a statement from Sowore’s legal team, signed by Tope Temokun, the lawsuits challenge what they describe as “unconstitutional censorship” of Sowore’s social media accounts on Meta and X.
Temokun emphasized that the case is central to the protection of free speech in Nigeria, warning that “if state agencies can dictate to global platforms who may speak and what may be said, no Nigerian is safe; voices risk being silenced at the whim of those in power.”
The statement underscored that censorship of political expression is incompatible with democracy, citing Section 39 of the Nigerian Constitution, which guarantees every citizen the right to freedom of expression.
Temokun added that no security agency, regardless of its power, has the authority to suspend or remove these rights.
Sowore’s legal team also called on Meta and X to resist unlawful censorship demands, noting that compliance would make them complicit in suppressing freedom.
“They cannot claim neutrality while enabling authoritarian control on their platforms,” the statement said.
The court filings seek declarations that the DSS has no legal power to censor Nigerians on social media, that Meta and X must not allow their platforms to be used as tools of repression, and that Sowore’s rights—and, by extension, those of all Nigerians—be fully protected against unlawful interference.
“We urge all defenders of freedom, journalists, human rights advocates, and Nigerians to stand firm. Today it is @YeleSowore; tomorrow it could be anyone. This is about principle, not personalities, and we will resist attempts to turn Nigeria into a digital dictatorship,” the statement concluded.
The lawsuits were filed shortly after the DSS initiated a five-count criminal charge against Sowore at the Federal High Court, also listing Meta and X as defendants.
The charges, filed by the Directorate of Public Prosecutions and DSS lawyers, followed an ultimatum on September 8 for Sowore to delete a social media post deemed “false, malicious, and inciting” regarding President Bola Tinubu.
The ultimatum expired without action from Sowore, and the social media companies did not comply with the DSS request to remove his accounts.