…Activist counters with own suit against DSS
A legal battle over free speech and presidential criticism has erupted in Abuja, with the Federal Government and human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore filing suits against each other — dragging global social media giants X (formerly Twitter) and Meta (owners of Facebook) into the storm.
Yesterday, the Department of State Services (DSS), through the Federal Ministry of Justice, filed a five-count charge at the Federal High Court in Abuja, accusing Sowore of defaming President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The DSS alleges that posts on Sowore’s X handle (@YeleSowore) and Facebook page on August 25 and 26, 2025 — in which he described Tinubu as a “criminal” during an official visit to Brazil — were false, defamatory, and capable of inciting public disorder.
The charge sheet, marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/484/2015, lists Sowore, X Inc., and Meta Inc. as defendants. It accuses Sowore of knowingly spreading false information to disrupt law and order, defaming the President, and publishing falsehoods intended to cause public fear and disturbance.
But in a dramatic twist, Sowore fired back the same day, suing the DSS, Meta, and X Corp. at the same court. Through his lawyer, Tope Temokun, he asked for an injunction restraining the DSS from directing social media platforms to delete his posts, insisting that the censorship attempt violates Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression.
“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”,Temokun said, in an issued statement.
Sowore further argued that Meta and X must resist unlawful censorship demands, warning that compliance would make them complicit in repression. “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”, the statement read.
The DSS had earlier written to both platforms, urging them to delete Sowore’s posts and deactivate his accounts, citing national security and public order. Sowore refused, insisting he would not retract his remarks.
While the charges against him have not yet been assigned to a judge or given a trial date, the case sets up a landmark clash between state power, free speech rights, and the responsibilities of global tech platforms in Nigeria’s digital space.
