Activist politician Omoyele Sowore has filed two fundamental rights actions at the Federal High Court in Abuja against the Department of State Services, DSS, Meta, and X Corp, challenging what he described as unconstitutional censorship of his accounts.
Sowore urged the court to restrain Facebook and X from deleting his remark calling President Bola Tinubu a criminal.
The lawsuits emphasise the importance of free speech in Nigeria and warn against state agencies dictating who may speak on global platforms.
One of Sowore’s lawyers, Tope Temokun, argued that the Nigerian Constitution guarantees freedom of expression, and no security agency can suspend or delete these rights.
Sowore also urged Meta and X not to comply with unlawful censorship demands, insisting that doing so would make them complicit in suppressing liberty.
He further asked the court to declare that the DSS has no legal power to censor Nigerians on social media and that Meta and X must not serve as tools of repression.
The petition reads: “On behalf of our client, Omoyele Sowore @YeleSowore, we have filed two fundamental rights actions at the Federal High Court, Abuja, against the State Security Service (SSS) @OfficialDSSNG, @Meta (owners of @facebook), and @X Corp. (formerly Twitter).
“These lawsuits were filed to challenge the unconstitutional censorship initiated by the @OfficialDSSNG /SSS against Sowore’s accounts maintained with Meta and X.
“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 whims of those in power.
“Censorship of political criticism is alien to democracy. 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 that when they bow to unlawful censorship demands, they become complicit in the suppression of the struggle for liberty. They cannot hide behind neutrality while authoritarianism is exported onto their platforms.”
The petition prayed the court:
“That the SSS @OfficialDSSNG has no power in law to censor Nigerians on social media;
“That Meta and X must not lend their platforms as tools of repression; and
“That our client’s rights and by extension, the rights of all Nigerians, be fully protected against unlawful censorship.
“We call on all lovers of freedom, journalists, human rights defenders, and the Nigerian people to stand firm. Today it is @YeleSowore; 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.”