BY GODWIN OBI
Presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in the 2023 election, Omoyele Sowore, has filed two fundamental rights enforcement suits at the Federal High Court, Abuja, against the Department of State Services (DSS), as well as social media giants Meta (owners of Facebook) and X Corp.
In a statement signed on Tuesday by his lawyer, Tope Temokun, Sowore’s legal team described the move as a battle against “unconstitutional censorship” of his social media accounts.
Temokun stressed that the case goes beyond Sowore’s personal grievance, arguing that it touches the survival of free expression in Nigeria.
“If state agencies can dictate to global platforms who may speak and what may be said, then no Nigerian is safe. Voices will be silenced at the whims of those in power,” he declared.
Citing Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution, the lawyers maintained that freedom of expression is guaranteed and cannot be curtailed by any security agency. They also accused Meta and X of complicity when they yield to unlawful state pressure.
“They cannot hide behind neutrality while authoritarianism is exported onto their platforms,” the statement read.
Among their prayers before the court are declarations:
- That the DSS lacks the legal power to censor Nigerians on social media.
- That Meta and X must not serve as tools of state repression.
- That Sowore’s rights — and by extension those of all Nigerians — be protected against unlawful censorship.
The legal team further called on journalists, activists, and citizens to resist attempts to turn Nigeria into a “digital dictatorship.”
Sowore’s action comes just hours after the DSS filed a five-count charge against him, also dragging Meta and X into the case. The charges, filed by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Muhammed Abubakar, follow the agency’s ultimatum to Sowore to delete what it called “false, malicious, and inciting” posts about President Bola Tinubu.
The one-week deadline, issued on September 8, expired on Monday without Sowore taking down the posts. Meta and X Corp equally refused to comply with the DSS directive to delete Sowore’s accounts.
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