Human rights activist and publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, has taken the State Security Service (SSS), Meta (owners of Facebook), and X Corp. (formerly Twitter) to the Federal High Court in Abuja, challenging what he describes as unconstitutional censorship of his social media accounts.
The lawsuits, filed on September 16, 2025, seek to stop the SSS from pressuring Meta and X to delete Sowore’s posts, particularly one labeling President Bola Tinubu a “criminal,” and to protect the fundamental right to free speech for all Nigerians
Represented by his lawyer, Tope Temokun, Esq., Sowore argues that the SSS’s actions to suppress his statements violate Section 39 of the Nigerian Constitution, which guarantees every citizen’s right to freedom of expression without interference.
The lawsuit emphasizes that the survival of free speech in Nigeria is at stake, warning that allowing state agencies to dictate content on global platforms threatens the voices of all Nigerians. “If state agencies can decide who may speak and what may be said, no Nigerian is safe,” Temokun stated in a press release.
The legal action accuses Meta and X of complicity in authoritarian censorship by complying with the SSS’s demands to remove Sowore’s content. It argues that such acquiescence undermines the platforms’ neutrality and aids repression, effectively turning them into tools of a “digital dictatorship.”
Sowore’s legal team is seeking court orders to affirm that the SSS lacks the legal authority to censor Nigerians on social media, to compel Meta and X to resist unlawful censorship requests, and to safeguard Sowore’s—and by extension, all Nigerians’—constitutional rights to free expression.
Temokun called on journalists, human rights defenders, and the Nigerian public to rally against this perceived assault on free speech. “Today it is Sowore; tomorrow it may be you,” he warned, framing the lawsuits as a broader fight for democratic principles. The statement underscored that the struggle transcends personalities and is rooted in defending the right to criticize those in power without fear of censorship or retribution.
The lawsuits come amid heightened tensions over freedom of expression in Nigeria, with Sowore, a vocal critic of the government, frequently targeted for his activism. As the case unfolds, it is poised to test the boundaries of state power, social media governance, and the protection of constitutional rights in Nigeria’s digital age.
Source: TG News