Lawyers for rights activist and Sahara Reporters publisher, Omoyele Sowore, have submitted a petition to Meta Platforms Incorporated, the parent company of Facebook, asking the tech company to reject a request from the Department of State Services (DSS) to deactivate Sowore’s Facebook account.
The DSS reportedly requested that Meta suspend Sowore’s account due to a post the service deemed offensive.
In their response, Sowore’s legal team characterized the DSS’s actions as “autocratic, unlawful, and a serious attack” on the constitutionally protected right to free speech.
The lawyers argued that the legal grounds cited by the DSS were “inapplicable and irrelevant,” asserting that the post in question did not violate Meta’s Community Standards in any way.
The letter emphasized that President Bola Tinubu, for whom the DSS is allegedly acting unlawfully and improperly, has not taken any legal action against Sowore.
“If he believes his reputation is at risk of defamation, Mr. Tinubu should seek legal recourse in court and defend his character,” the letter stated.
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It criticized the DSS for misusing its authority to serve the interests of a politician and a public official funded by taxpayers, calling it an extreme abuse of power.
The lawyers cautioned that complying with the DSS’s request would facilitate censorship and create a troubling precedent.
“We urge Meta to recognize the SSS’s request for what it truly is: a blatant attempt to flatter the Nigerian president; a request based on legally unfounded claims aimed at undermining Nigeria’s democratic progress and imposing tyranny on the nation,” the petition stated.
They called on Meta to resist this pressure, emphasizing that yielding to the “unlawful and oppressive” demands of the DSS would encourage authorities to suppress dissenting voices in the future.
