Today, we were before the Federal High Court Abuja in the fundamental rights suit filed by Omoyele Sowore against the State Security Services and X Corp. over the use of State security machinery to trigger censorship and suppression of political expression on digital platforms.
At the centre of the case is a constitutional question:
Can a security agency, without any judicial pronouncement, independently label politically controversial post as “unlawful” and request deactivation of user's account or his post on the ground that such post violates Nogerian laws?
Our position is clear: security agencies are not constitutional reputation managers for political office holders. Where defamation is alleged, the law already provides judicial remedies before competent courts, not the use of state powers to coerce action against the citizen from the platform.
We need the apex court to have the final say on this constitutional question: whether the Constitution becomes helpless once the State colludes with a social media platform to cut a citizen off from the modern civic space merely because the relationship is described as “contractual.”
If political participation, expression, advocacy, and association now substantially occur on digital platforms, then the Constitution cannot fold its arms where State power allegedly triggers suppression through private intermediaries.
The matter came up today and was adjourned for adoption.
Tope Temokun Esq.
April 29, 2026.
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