The Federal Government has filed a five-count charge not only against activist Omoyele Sowore, but also against X (formerly Twitter) and Meta (Facebook), accusing the tech giants of refusing to remove a post in which Sowore referred to President Bola Tinubu as a “criminal.”
The case, filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja under charge number FHC/ABJ/CR/484/2025, marks one of the rare instances where Nigeria is directly challenging global platforms for failing to comply with content takedown requests.
According to the Federal Ministry of Justice, the government had, through the Department of State Services (DSS), written to both companies on August 25 asking them to ban Sowore’s accounts and delete the contentious post. The request was ignored, prompting the inclusion of X and Meta as defendants.
Officials argue that the post, made after President Tinubu claimed in Brazil that his administration had “ended corruption in Nigeria,” was defamatory and capable of inciting unrest.
The charges cite provisions of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act, 2024, and the Criminal Code Act, with government lawyers stressing that platforms must take responsibility for harmful content hosted on their networks.
Legal and tech analysts say the case could test the boundaries of platform liability in Nigeria, raising questions about how far governments can compel social media companies to police political speech.
Among the exhibits listed are Sowore’s original posts, along with letters sent by the DSS to X and Meta.
