Omoyele Sowore, presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in the 2023 election, has filed two fundamental rights suits at the Federal High Court, Abuja, against the Department of State Services (DSS) and social media giants Meta (Facebook) and X Corp.

In a statement issued on Tuesday by his legal team and signed by Tope Temokun, the lawsuits challenge what the lawyers described as “unconstitutional censorship” of Sowore’s accounts on the platforms.

Temokun stressed that the cases go beyond Sowore as an individual, saying they concern 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. Voices will be silenced at the whims of those in power. Censorship of political criticism is alien to democracy,” he said.

Citing Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution, the lawyers argued that no security agency, regardless of power, can suspend or delete Nigerians’ right to freedom of expression. They added that Meta and X must recognise that yielding to unlawful censorship makes them complicit in repression.

“They cannot hide behind neutrality while authoritarianism is exported onto their platforms,” the statement read.

The legal team is seeking court declarations that the DSS has no lawful authority to censor Nigerians on social media, that Meta and X must not serve as tools of repression, and that Sowore’s rights—and by extension those of all Nigerians—must be protected against unlawful censorship.

“We call on all lovers of freedom, journalists, human rights defenders, and Nigerians to stand firm. Today it is @YeleSowore; tomorrow it may be you. This struggle is not about personalities but about principle. We shall resist every attempt to turn Nigeria into a digital dictatorship,” the lawyers concluded.

The suits were filed hours after the DSS lodged a five-count charge against Sowore at the same court. The agency also listed Meta and X Corp as co-defendants.

The charges, filed on behalf of the DSS and the Federal Government by a Director of Public Prosecutions, Muhammed Abubakar, and other lawyers, followed an ultimatum issued to Sowore on 8 September. The DSS had ordered him to delete what it called “false, malicious, and inciting” posts about President Bola Tinubu within one week.

The ultimatum expired on Monday, but Sowore refused to delete the posts. X and Meta also declined DSS demands to deactivate his accounts.