Sowore sues Nigerian govt, Meta, X for rights violations

The Sahara Reporters Publisher, Omoyele Sowore, has filed fundamental rights enforcement suits against the Federal Government at the Federal High Court, Abuja.

The Department of State Service (DSS), social media giants, Meta (Facebook), and X Corp (formerly Twitter), were listed as respondents in the suits.

This came a few hours after the DSS filed a five-count criminal charge against the activist at the same court for making defamatory statements against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The agency had last week asked the social media giants to pull down the post from their platforms.

Sowore’s legal team confirmed the suits in a statement signed by one Tope Temokun on Tuesday.

The team said the lawsuits were filed to challenge the “unconstitutional censorship” of Sowore’s accounts with Meta and X.

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The statement read: “Censorship of political criticism is alien to democracy. The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, in Section 39, guarantees every citizen the right to freedom of expression, without interference. No security agency, no matter how powerful, can suspend or delete those rights.

“They (Meta and X Corp) cannot hide behind neutrality while authoritarianism is exported onto their platforms.

“That the DSS has no power in law to censor Nigerians on social media; That Meta and X must not lend their platforms as tools of repression; and

“That our client’s rights and by extension, the rights of all Nigerians, be fully protected against unlawful censorship.

“We call on all lovers of freedom, journalists, human rights defenders, and the Nigerian people 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.”