By Olatunbosun Obafemi
The 2023 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has dragged the Department of State Services (DSS), Meta Platforms (owners of Facebook), and X Corp (owners of X, formerly Twitter) before the Federal High Court in Abuja, challenging what he describes as unconstitutional censorship of his social media accounts.
In a statement released on Tuesday by his legal team and signed by lawyer Tope Temokun, Sowore’s camp said the lawsuit seeks to defend free speech in Nigeria. According to Temokun, the cases are not just about his client but about the survival of freedom of expression in the country.
“If state agencies can dictate to global platforms who may speak and what may be said, then no Nigerian is safe,” Temokun stated, adding that censorship of political criticism runs contrary to democratic principles. He further argued that Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution guarantees citizens the right to free expression without interference.
The statement also accused Meta and X of complicity, alleging that by bowing to state pressure, they risk enabling authoritarian control. “They cannot hide behind neutrality while authoritarianism is exported onto their platforms,” the lawyers warned.
Sowore’s legal team is asking the court to declare that the DSS has no power under law to censor Nigerians on social media, that Meta and X should not serve as tools of repression, and that his rights—and those of all Nigerians—be protected against unlawful censorship.
The suit was filed just hours after the DSS, through the Federal Ministry of Justice, lodged a five-count criminal charge against Sowore at the same Federal High Court. The case, filed by Director of Public Prosecutions Mohammed Abubakar, also lists Meta and X as defendants.
According to court documents, the DSS accused Sowore of cyberbullying President Bola Tinubu, citing a post on his verified X handle on August 25, where he described the president as “a criminal” and accused him of lying about corruption in Nigeria. The government alleges the statement was false, malicious, and intended to cause public disorder, in violation of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act, 2024.
The DSS had earlier issued Sowore a one-week ultimatum, which expired on Monday, to delete the posts it deemed “false and inciting.” However, Sowore refused to comply, and both X and Meta declined the security agency’s request to deactivate his accounts.
Sowore, publisher of the online platform Sahara Reporters and a two-time presidential candidate, insists the case goes beyond his personal battles. “This struggle is not about personalities, it is about principle. And we shall resist every attempt to turn Nigeria into a digital dictatorship,” his legal team declared.
