Federal High Court Rejects Sowore’s Lawsuit Against DSS and Meta Platforms
A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a fundamental rights enforcement suit filed by politician and online publisher Omoyele Sowore against the Department of State Services (DSS), its director-general Oluwatosin Adeola Ajayi, and Meta Platforms, previously known as Facebook.
In a ruling delivered on Thursday, Justice Mohamed Umar addressed three key issues in the case, determining that none of the claims brought forth by Sowore were valid. Consequently, the court dismissed the suit as lacking merit. Additionally, the judge ordered that Sowore be compensated with N1.5 million.
In case number FHC/ABJ/CS/1887/2025, Sowore contended that Meta Platforms’ decision to remove his posts labeling President Bola Tinubu as a criminal, and subsequently deactivate his Facebook account at the behest of the DSS, constituted a violation of his fundamental human rights.
On August 26, 2025, Sowore had published a post on his Facebook account, in which he accused President Tinubu of being a criminal, stating, “This criminal actually went to Brazil and claimed that there is no more corruption in Nigeria. How dare he shamelessly lie!”
Sowore argued that the actions taken by Meta, purportedly under directives from the DSS, infringed upon his rights to a fair hearing, freedom of expression, and freedom of association. However, Justice Umar found that Sowore’s claim regarding the right to a fair hearing was incorrectly directed at the DSS, its director-general, and Meta Platforms.
The judge ruled that the allegations made by Sowore did not pertain to fair hearing procedures as prescribed by law, emphasizing that violations of this nature must be related to judicial proceedings. He stated that any alleged infringement not resulting from a judicial body does not constitute a breach of the right to a fair hearing under Article 36(1) of the 1999 Constitution.
Addressing the issue of freedom of expression, Justice Umar determined that the actions taken by the DSS and Meta in relation to Sowore’s post did not violate his constitutional rights. He noted that while freedom of expression is protected, it is not absolute. The judge emphasized the importance of safeguarding the rights and reputations of others, explaining that statements intended to disparage individuals or groups may be justifiably restricted under law.
Justice Umar concluded that the DSS acted appropriately in reporting Sowore’s posts to Meta Platforms, stating that the court upheld the defendants’ position that Facebook’s actions were guided by its own policies and independent judgment. He affirmed that Sowore failed to adequately demonstrate that his rights protected by sections 36(1), 39, and 41 were at risk from the respondents.
In light of a request for costs by the DSS and its director-general’s legal representatives, Justice Umar awarded Sowore N1.5 million, with the summation of costs being N500,000 for each of the three defendants involved in the case.
