Human rights activist Omoyele Sowore has filed a lawsuit against Nigeria’s Department of State Services (DSS), as well as social media giants Meta (Facebook) and X Corp. (formerly Twitter), alleging that the DSS is attempting to censor his social media posts that are critical of President Bola Tinubu.
The lawsuit was announced by Sowore’s lawyer, Tope Temokun, who stated that the legal action challenges the “unconstitutional censorship initiated by the DSS/SSS against Sowore’s accounts.” Temokun emphasized that the case is a critical test for free speech in Nigeria, arguing that if state agencies can dictate what is said on global platforms, no citizen is safe.
Temokun’s statement highlighted the constitutional right to freedom of expression, noting that no security agency has the authority to suspend or delete these rights. He also warned that Meta and X risk becoming “complicit in the suppression of liberty” if they comply with such requests.
The suit seeks a declaration that the DSS has no legal authority to censor Nigerians on social media and that Meta and X must not act as “tools of repression.”
Sowore himself had previously commented on the situation, stating that the DSS had filed a five-count charge against X, Facebook, and himself for calling President Tinubu a criminal. X had previously confirmed receiving a legal request from the Nigerian secret police but had not acted on it, reaffirming its commitment to defending user voices.
Source: BBC