Sowore Sues DSS, Meta, and X

A former presidential candidate and human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore, has initiated legal proceedings against the Department of State Services (DSS), Meta (the parent company of Facebook), and X Corp. (formerly Twitter) at the Federal High Court in Abuja. 

Sowore is challenging what he described as unconstitutional censorship of his social media accounts.

In a suit filed on his behalf by his lawyer, Tope Temokun, Sowore asked the Federal High court to stop the DSS from directing the social media 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,” a statement signed by Temokun on Tuesday, said.

“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 whim of those in power.”

He argued that censorship of political criticism was alien to democracy, citing Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression.

The statement said: “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 this: when they bow to unlawful censorship demands, they become complicit in the suppression of liberty. They cannot hide behind neutrality while authoritarianism is exported onto their platforms.”

The lawyer is asking the court to declare that the DSS has no legal authority 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 those of other Nigerians be fully protected against unlawful interference.

The suit said: “We call on all lovers of freedom, journalists, human rights defenders, and the Nigerian people to stand firm. Today it is Sowore; 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.”