Photo combo showings DSS, Sowore, Meta (Facebook) and X-logo
African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate in 2023 election, Omoyele Sowore, has launched two significant lawsuits at the Federal High Court in Abuja, targeting the Department of State Services (DSS), Meta (Facebook), and X Corp.
The legal actions, filed to protect fundamental rights, aim to counter what Sowore’s legal team calls “unlawful censorship” of his social media accounts.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by Tope Temokun, a member of Sowore’s legal team, the lawsuits emphasize the critical importance of free expression in Nigeria.
“The survival of free speech is at stake,” Temokun declared, warning that “if state agencies can control what global platforms allow, no Nigerian’s voice is safe from arbitrary silencing by those in power.”
The legal team argues that censoring political dissent violates democratic principles.
They cite Section 39 of Nigeria’s Constitution, which enshrines every citizen’s right to free expression without interference.
“No security agency, regardless of its influence, can override or suppress these constitutional protections,” the statement asserted.
Sowore’s lawyers also called out Meta and X, urging them to resist complying with unjust censorship demands. “By yielding to authoritarian pressures, these platforms risk becoming tools of oppression,” the team noted, emphasizing that neutrality is not an excuse for enabling repression.
The lawsuits seek judicial declarations that the DSS lacks the authority to censor Nigerians on social media, that Meta and X must not facilitate state-driven suppression, and that the rights of Sowore—and all Nigerians—to free speech be upheld against illegal censorship.
The legal team rallied public support, stating, “We urge journalists, human rights advocates, and all Nigerians to stand firm.
“Today, it’s Sowore; tomorrow, it could be anyone.
“This fight is about principle, not individuals, and we will resist any move to transform Nigeria into a digital dictatorship.”
The lawsuits follow a recent DSS action against Sowore, where the agency filed a five-count charge against him at the same court, also naming Meta and X as defendants. Representing the DSS and the Nigerian government, Muhammed Abubakar, a Director of Public Prosecutions at the Federal Ministry of Justice, led the filing.
On September 8, the DSS issued Sowore a one-week ultimatum to remove social media posts it labeled “false, malicious, and inciting” about President Bola Tinubu.
Sowore did not comply by the Monday deadline, and neither Meta nor X acted on the DSS’s demand to delete his accounts.
