Sowore Sues Meta, X, DSS Over Censorship, Rights Violations

Former presidential candidate and activist, Omoyele Sowore, has filed a lawsuit against social media giants Meta (Facebook), X (formerly Twitter), and Nigeria’s Department of State Services (DSS), accusing them of unconstitutional censorship and human rights violations.

The suit, filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, comes just hours after the DSS itself filed a five-count charge against Sowore and the two social media platforms. The DSS alleged that Sowore used his accounts to “misuse freedom of speech” by referring to President Bola Tinubu as a “criminal” in posts made on August 25 and 26, 2025, during Tinubu’s official visit to Brazil.

According to the DSS, the remarks contravene Section 24(1)(b) of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Amendment Act, 2024. The agency has asked the court to hold Sowore, Meta, and X liable for the statements.

In response, Sowore’s legal team, led by Tope Temokun, described the lawsuit as a fight for the survival of free speech in Nigeria. The team argued that Section 39 of the Constitution guarantees every Nigerian the right to freedom of expression, without interference from state security agencies.

“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 legal team said in a statement. “Censorship of political criticism is alien to democracy.”

The lawyers also faulted Meta and X for complying with DSS orders to restrict Sowore’s accounts, warning that tech platforms must not “become tools of repression.”
“They cannot hide behind neutrality while authoritarianism is exported onto their platforms,” the statement added.

The reliefs sought by Sowore include a court declaration that:

1.     The DSS has no power in law to censor Nigerians on social media.

2.     Meta and X must not lend their platforms as tools of political repression.

3.     Sowore’s rights—and by extension the rights of all Nigerians—be protected against unlawful censorship.

The legal team urged Nigerians, journalists, and civil society groups to rally behind the case, insisting that “the struggle is not about personalities but principles.”
“We shall resist every attempt to turn Nigeria into a digital dictatorship,” it concluded.