Abuja, Nigeria
A fresh legal showdown is unfolding between activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, and the Department of State Services (DSS), after both sides filed suits in connection with Sowore’s social media criticism of President Bola Tinubu.
On Tuesday, the Federal Government, through the Department of Public Prosecutions at the Ministry of Justice, filed a five-count criminal charge against Sowore over a post in which he described the President as a “criminal.”
The charges, filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja (FHC/ABJ/CR/481/2025), also list X Corp. (formerly Twitter) and Meta (owners of Facebook) as co-defendants. The government alleged that Sowore’s post of August 25—made during Tinubu’s visit to Brazil—violated the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act, 2024, and provisions of the Criminal Code Act.
The DSS said the comments were “false, malicious, and inciting,” with potential to trigger public disorder, inflame divisions, and damage the President’s reputation. The agency had earlier demanded that Sowore delete the posts and petitioned Meta and X Corp. to deactivate his accounts.
Sowore, however, refused to retract his remarks, insisting it was his constitutional right to hold government accountable.
Sowore’s counter-suit
In a swift counter-move, Sowore, through his lawyer, Tope Temokun, filed a separate suit at the Federal High Court challenging what he described as “unconstitutional censorship” of his social media accounts.
The activist asked the court to restrain the DSS from directing Meta and X to remove his posts, arguing that such interference violated Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression.
“This is about the survival of free speech in Nigeria,” Temokun said in a statement. “If state agencies can dictate to global platforms who may speak and what may be said, then no Nigerian is safe.”
He further warned Meta and X against bowing to “unlawful censorship demands,” saying it would make them complicit in suppressing liberty.
The suit seeks declarations that the DSS lacks authority to censor Nigerians online, and that global platforms must not serve as tools of repression.
Free speech at stake
Sowore framed the case as a fight beyond his personal battles, calling on Nigerians, journalists, and human rights advocates to resist what he described as an attempt to “turn Nigeria into a digital dictatorship.”
“Today it is Sowore; tomorrow it may be you,” his lawyer said.
As of Tuesday evening, neither the criminal charges nor Sowore’s counter-suit had been assigned to a judge.
