The legal confrontation between activist Omoyele Sowore and the Federal Government of Nigeria has deepened after both parties filed lawsuits over a contentious social media post targeting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
On Tuesday, the Department of State Services (DSS), through the Federal Ministry of Justice, initiated criminal proceedings against the former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC). The charges arose from a post on Sowore’s verified X (formerly Twitter) account, where he described Tinubu as a “criminal” during the President’s visit to Brazil.
In the charge sheet marked FHC/ABJ/CR/481/2025, Sowore was accused of breaching Section 24(2)(b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act, 2024. The Federal Government further alleged that his post was “false, malicious, and inciting,” intended to damage Tinubu’s reputation and sow political discord.
The controversial post read:
“This criminal @officialABAT actually went to Brazil to state that there is no more corruption under his regime in Nigeria. What audacity to lie shamelessly!”
In addition to Sowore, the government listed Meta (the parent company of Facebook) and X Corp. as co-defendants, claiming that the platforms facilitated the spread of unlawful content.
The DSS had earlier issued a warning, ordering Sowore to delete the posts or risk prosecution. The agency also petitioned Meta and X Corp. to suspend his accounts permanently.
Sowore, however, defied the directives and counter-sued the DSS at the Federal High Court in Abuja. Through his lawyer, Tope Temokun, he argued that the censorship effort was unconstitutional and aimed at silencing dissent.
“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.
He continued:
“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; their voices will be silenced at the whim of those in power.”
Sowore’s suit demands a declaration that the DSS lacks authority to police Nigerians’ social media accounts and insists that global tech companies must not aid repression by bowing to unlawful government pressure.
Human rights defenders argue that the development is a critical test for democracy and freedom of speech in the country. Sowore insists his criticism falls within his constitutional duty to hold public officials accountable.
okay.ng reports that as of Tuesday evening, neither of the two suits had been assigned to a presiding judge.
