Omoyele Sowore, the 2023 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), has filed two fundamental rights lawsuits at the Federal High Court in Abuja against the Department of State Services (DSS), Meta (Facebook), and X Corp. The legal actions challenge what Sowore’s lawyers describe as “unconstitutional censorship” of his social media accounts on Meta and X.
According to Sowore’s legal team, the lawsuits are crucial for the survival of free speech in Nigeria. They argue that if state agencies can dictate who may speak and what may be said on global platforms, then no Nigerian’s voice is safe from suppression.
They emphasized, “Censorship of political criticism is alien to democracy.” Citing Section 39 of the Nigerian Constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression to every citizen, the lawyers asserted that no security agency, regardless of its power, can suspend or delete those rights.
The legal team called on Meta and X not to become complicit in suppressing freedom of expression by complying with unlawful censorship demands. “They cannot hide behind neutrality while authoritarianism is exported onto their platforms,” the lawyers stated.
Among the demands before the court are declarations that the DSS has no legal authority to censor Nigerians on social media, and that Meta and X should not allow their platforms to be used as tools of repression. They also seek full protection of Sowore’s rights and, by extension, the rights of all Nigerians against unlawful censorship.
The statement concluded with a call to action for freedom lovers, journalists, human rights defenders, and Nigerians to stand firm: “Today it is @YeleSowore; tomorrow it may be you. This struggle is not about personalities. It is about principle. And we shall resist every attempt to turn Nigeria into a digital dictatorship.”
Sowore’s lawsuits come just hours after the DSS filed a five-count charge against him at the Federal High Court, Abuja, also naming Meta and X Corp as defendants .
