Omoyele Sowore, publisher of Sahara Reporters and former 2023 presidential candidate for the African Action Congress (AAC), has launched two fundamental rights lawsuits at the Federal High Court in Abuja targeting the Department of State Services (DSS), Meta (Facebook’s parent company), and X Corp following government charges against all three parties.
The legal action, announced Tuesday by Sowore’s attorney Tope Temokun, directly challenges what the defence team calls unlawful attempts to silence the activist’s social media presence. The suits come just hours after the DSS, operating through the Federal Ministry of Justice, filed five criminal charges against Sowore and the two tech companies over social media posts in which he labelled President Bola Tinubu a criminal.
Temokun’s statement emphasised that the case aims to safeguard free speech rights in Nigeria under Section 39 of the Constitution, which protects freedom of expression. The legal team argues three key points: that the DSS lacks legal authority to censor Nigerian citizens on social media platforms, that Meta and X must refuse to become instruments of government repression, and that constitutional rights of all Nigerians must be defended against illegal censorship.
The attorney stressed that social media companies risk becoming complicit in authoritarian practices if they bow to unlawful government pressure to suppress user content.
The legal battle escalated after the DSS issued Sowore a one-week deadline that expired Monday, September 15, demanding he remove the controversial posts about President Tinubu. The ultimatum also required X Corp and Meta to deactivate Sowore’s accounts entirely.
This case represents a significant test of digital rights and press freedom in Nigeria, as it pits constitutional protections against state security concerns in the social media age.
Madukwe B. Nwabuisi is an accomplished journalist renown for his fearless reporting style and extensive expertise in the field. He is an investigative journalist, who has established himself as a kamikaze reporter.
