Human rights activist and SaharaReporters publisher, Omoyele Sowore, has filed a lawsuit at the Federal High Court in Abuja against the Department of State Services (DSS), Meta Platforms Inc. and X Corp., accusing them of unconstitutional censorship of his social media accounts.

The suit, filed on his behalf by lawyer Tope Temokun, seeks to restrain the DSS from directing global platforms to delete his posts, including one in which he described 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,” Temokun said in a statement on Tuesday.

He added that the matter goes beyond Sowore, stressing that it touches on 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.”

The suit argues that censorship of political criticism is incompatible with democracy, citing Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution which guarantees freedom of expression.

“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,” the statement said.

It further criticized the role of Meta and X in complying with state directives. “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 reliefs sought in the suit include declarations that the DSS has no legal authority to censor Nigerians on social media, and that Meta and X must not allow their platforms to be used as instruments of repression.

“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,” the statement added.

Background to the suit shows that the DSS has filed a five-count charge against Sowore at the same court, accusing him of defaming the President and publishing false statements intended to incite unrest. The charges, filed on September 16, 2025, by the Director of Public Prosecutions at the Federal Ministry of Justice, have yet to be assigned to a judge.

According to the charge sheet, Sowore is accused of using his X and Facebook accounts on August 25 and 26, 2025, to call President Tinubu a “criminal” and allege that he lied about ending corruption. The DSS claimed the posts were false, malicious, and capable of undermining public order, contrary to provisions of the Cybercrimes Amendment Act, 2024.

Sowore, a former presidential candidate and long-standing critic of successive governments, has vowed not to retract his statements, insisting that holding leaders accountable is his constitutional duty. (AriseNews TV)

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