Omoyele Sowore has sued the DSS, Meta, and X, alleging censorship of his social media posts and warning that free speech in Nigeria is under threat.
Human rights activist and SaharaReporters publisher, Omoyele Sowore, has filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja against the Department of State Services (DSS), Meta, and X Corp., alleging unconstitutional censorship of his social media accounts.
In the case filed by his lawyer, Tope Temokun, Sowore asked the court to bar the DSS from directing global platforms to remove his posts, including one in which he called President Bola Tinubu a “criminal.” “These suits were filed to challenge the unconstitutional censorship initiated by the DSS/SSS against Sowore’s accounts maintained with Meta and X,” Temokun said in a statement on Tuesday.
He added: “The lawsuit states categorically that 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.”
The suit also seeks declarations that the DSS lacks authority to censor Nigerians online and that Meta and X must resist unlawful state interference. “Meta and X must also understand this: when they bow to unlawful censorship demands, they become complicit in the suppression of liberty,” the statement added.
Sowore faces a separate five-count charge filed by the DSS on September 16, accusing him of defaming President Tinubu. No date has been set for arraignment.