Abuja, Nigeria – 16 September 2025
In a bold stand against alleged state-sponsored censorship, Nigerian activist and journalist Omoyele Sowore has instituted proceedings at the Federal High Court in Abuja against the State Security Service (SSS), Meta—the owner of Facebook—and X Corp., the platform formerly known as Twitter. The two fundamental rights suits, lodged by Sowore’s counsel, Tope Temokun, Esq., seek to halt the removal of Sowore’s posts on social media, including one accusing President Bola Tinubu of criminality.
At the heart of the litigation lies the SSS’s purported coercion of Meta and X to suppress Sowore’s online expression, which the suits contend contravenes Section 39 of the Nigerian Constitution. This provision enshrines the right to freedom of expression for every citizen, free from interference. The legal filings decry the episode as a perilous assault on democratic principles, cautioning that unchecked state influence over international platforms could render all Nigerians vulnerable to arbitrary silencing.
Tope Temokun articulated the stakes in a statement posted on X: “This is about the survival of 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, their voices will be silenced at the whims of those in power.”
The court applications demand declarations that the SSS holds no statutory power to police social media content; injunctions barring Meta and X from acquiescing to such illicit directives; and robust safeguards for Sowore’s rights, as well as those of the wider populace, against future encroachments. The plaintiffs further admonish the tech giants, asserting that compliance with unwarranted censorship renders them accessories to the curtailment of liberty.
“Censorship of political criticism is alien to democracy,” Temokun declared. “Meta and X must understand that when they bow to unlawful censorship demands, they become complicit in the suppression of the struggle for liberty. They cannot hide behind neutrality while authoritarianism is exported onto their platforms.”
Sowore, renowned for his incisive journalism via Sahara Reporters and his leadership in the #RevolutionNow protests, has endured repeated clashes with Nigerian authorities. This latest confrontation underscores his unyielding campaign against what he terms an emerging “digital dictatorship.”
The filings have ignited fervent discourse, with Temokun urging journalists, human rights advocates, and ordinary citizens to mobilise in solidarity. “We call on all lovers of freedom… to stand firm,” he implored. “Today it is Sowore; 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.”
