Sowore’s Bold Move: 5 Key Points on His Counter-Suit Against DSS

By: Abudu Olalekan

The Federal Government, backed by the Department of State Services (DSS), dropped a bombshell on Tuesday. They filed criminal charges against activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore. Why? Because he called President Bola Tinubu a “criminal” on social media. Talk about a heated exchange!

But Sowore didn’t back down. Oh no, he fought back. He sued the DSS right back, challenging what he called unconstitutional censorship of his social media accounts. This is getting interesting, folks.

Let’s break it down. The government’s charges, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/481/2025, allege that Sowore, using his verified X handle, @YeleSowore, wrote a post that didn’t sit well with the powers that be. The post in question? “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!”

The government didn’t stop at Sowore. They also listed X (formerly Twitter) and Meta (owners of Facebook) as co-defendants. They claimed Sowore’s post violated Section 24(2)(b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act, 2024. The case kicked off after Sowore’s posts during Tinubu’s visit to Brazil, where the President claimed his administration had eliminated corruption.

The DSS didn’t mess around. They wrote to Sowore, demanding he delete the “false, malicious, and inciting” messages. They warned that failure to comply would lead to legal action “to protect national security and public order.” They even petitioned Meta and X Corp., urging them to delete the posts and deactivate Sowore’s accounts.

But Sowore stood his ground. He refused to delete the posts, insisting that his criticism of the government was part of his constitutional duty to hold leaders accountable. He maintained that no amount of pressure would make him retract his comments.

The government, however, saw it differently. They insisted that Sowore’s comments amounted to offenses punishable under Sections 24(1)(b) of the Act, as well as Sections 59 and 375 of the Criminal Code Act. They claimed the post was intended to incite public disorder, inflame divisions among Nigerians with opposing political views, and damage the President’s reputation.

But here’s where it gets really interesting. Hours after the government filed the charges, Sowore counter-sued. Through his lawyer, Tope Temokun, he prayed the court to restrain the DSS from directing social media platforms to delete his posts. He argued that censorship of political criticism was alien to democracy, citing Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression.

Temokun didn’t hold back. He said, “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.”

The suit seeks declarations that the DSS has no authority to censor Nigerians on social media, that Meta and X must not allow their platforms to be used as tools of repression, and that Sowore’s rights—and those of other Nigerians—be fully protected against unlawful interference.

Temokun’s statement was clear: “We call on all lovers of freedom, journalists, human rights defenders, and the Nigerian people to stand firm. 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.”

As of Tuesday, neither of the suits had been assigned to a judge. But one thing is clear: this is a battle for free speech, and Sowore is not backing down.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *