2023 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has taken the Department of State Services (DSS), social media giant Meta (owners of Facebook), and X Corp (formerly Twitter) to the Federal High Court in Abuja over what he described as a coordinated attempt to silence him and suppress free speech in Nigeria.
According to a statement issued by his lead counsel, Tope Temokun, on Tuesday accessed by News Point Nigeria, Sowore filed two fundamental human rights enforcement suits, challenging what his legal team called “unconstitutional censorship” and attempts by state agencies to influence global tech platforms to restrict citizens’ speech.
Temokun stressed that the suits were not just about Sowore personally but about the principle of free expression for all Nigerians.
“This case is about the survival of free speech in Nigeria,” the statement read.
“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 whims of those in power.”
The lawyer argued that Section 39 of the Nigerian Constitution guarantees every citizen the right to freedom of expression and that no security agency — “no matter how powerful” — has the legal authority to suspend or delete those rights.
Sowore’s legal team also took aim at the social media giants, insisting that by complying with unlawful government takedown requests, Meta and X risk becoming complicit in the suppression of liberty.
“They cannot hide behind neutrality while authoritarianism is exported onto their platforms,” Temokun said.
“Meta and X must not lend their platforms as tools of repression.”
The suit seeks several declarations from the court, including: That the DSS has no power in law to censor Nigerians on social media and that Meta and X must not be used as instruments of unlawful censorship.
That Sowore’s constitutional rights and by extension, the rights of all Nigerians — must be fully protected from government overreach.
Sowore’s action comes just hours after the DSS itself filed a five-count criminal charge against him at the same Federal High Court in Abuja.
The DSS, through the Director of Public Prosecutions at the Federal Ministry of Justice, M.B. Abubakar, accused Sowore of posting what it described as “false, malicious, and inciting statements” about President Bola Tinubu on social media.
The agency had earlier, on September 8, issued Sowore a seven-day ultimatum to take down the posts, which expired on Monday without compliance.
In a surprising twist, the DSS also named Meta and X Corp as co-defendants, accusing them of allowing Sowore’s allegedly offensive posts to remain online.
Reacting to the development via his X handle, @YeleSowore, the activist vowed to show up in court and defend his right to speak truth to power.
“This struggle is not about personalities. It is about principle. Today it is @YeleSowore; tomorrow it may be you. We shall resist every attempt to turn Nigeria into a digital dictatorship.”
