Human rights activist and Sahara Reporters publisher Omoyele Sowore has filed two lawsuits at the Federal High Court in Abuja against the Department of State Services (DSS), Meta, and X Corp, alleging unconstitutional censorship of his social media accounts.
This happened shortly after the Federal Government charged Sowore with cyberbullying President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in a separate case that also lists Meta and X as co-defendants. The criminal suit, filed last week, accuses him of spreading false and defamatory claims against the President under Nigeria’s amended Cybercrimes Act.
In a statement on Tuesday, Sowore’s lawyer Tope Temokun confirmed the new suits, saying they challenge “the unconstitutional censorship initiated by the DSS against Sowore’s accounts maintained with Meta and X.”
Sowore’s legal team argues that the matter extends beyond one individual, framing it as a fight for 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,” they said, citing Section 39 of the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression.
The lawsuits also target Meta and X, accusing them of aiding repression by complying with takedown requests. “When they bow to unlawful censorship demands, they become complicit in the suppression of the struggle for liberty,” Sowore’s lawyers stated.
The case asks the court to declare that the DSS lacks the power to censor Nigerians online and that Meta and X must not act as tools of state control. Sowore’s team insists the outcome will have broad implications for democracy and digital rights across the country.
