Omoyele Sowore filed lawsuits challenging alleged censorship by security agents and major social platforms.
He claims the actions violate Nigerians’ free speech rights and threaten democratic participation across digital spaces.
Human rights advocate and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore has filed two separate fundamental rights suits at the Federal High Court in Abuja against the State Security Service (SSS), Meta Platforms Inc. (the parent company of Facebook), and X Corp.
The cases, lodged by his lawyer Tope Temokun, contest what Sowore describes as unconstitutional suppression of his social media activity after posts criticizing President Bola Tinubu were removed.
Temokun stressed that the matter transcends Sowore’s personal experience, arguing it represents a wider struggle to defend free expression in Nigeria.
He warned that allowing state agencies to influence global technology companies would threaten every citizen’s ability to speak freely online, saying no one’s voice should be stifled at the whims of those in power.
The suits ask the court to declare that:
- The SSS has no lawful authority to restrict Nigerians’ speech on social media.
- Meta and X should not be instruments of government repression by yielding to political pressure.
- Sowore’s rights and, by extension, the rights of all citizens must be protected against unlawful censorship.
Temokun argued that restricting political commentary erodes democratic values and violates Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression.
He also cautioned that when social media companies comply with politically motivated censorship, they risk enabling authoritarian control over public discourse.
“This case is about principle, not personalities,” Temokun added, noting that today Sowore is the target but tomorrow any Nigerian could be next, and vowing to oppose efforts to create a “digital dictatorship.”
