Sowore loses fight against DSS, Facebook: pays N1.5 million

Justice Mohammed Umar, of the Federal High Court, Abuja has dismissed a fundamental rights enforcement lawsuit filed by politician and activist, Omoyele Sowore, against the Department of State Services (DSS), its Director General and its social media platform, Facebook.

in a decision on Thursday, resolving three issues identified for determination against Sowore, declining to grant any relief requested, and dismissing the lawsuit as without merit.

Sowore has claimed, in a lawsuit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1887/2025, that Meta Incorporated decided, acting on the instructions of the DSS and its Director General, to delete posts he made about President Bola Tinubu, and deactivate his Facebook account.

On August 26, 2025, he published a post on his Facebook account calling President Bola Tinubu a “criminal”.

In his post, Sowore said, “This criminal actually went to Brazil to declare that there is no more corruption in Nigeria. How dare he lie so shamelessly!”

Sowore argued that the decision by Meta Incorporated, allegedly acting at the direction of the DSS and its Director General, to remove his post and deactivate his account without hearing from him violated his rights to a fair hearing, freedom of expression and association.

Judge Umar, in resolving the first issue, held that Sowore falsely alleged a violation of his right to a fair hearing against three respondents: DSS, its Director General, and Meta Platforms Incorporated.

The judge held that Sowore’s claims against the defendants did not relate to a fair hearing, as provided by law, based on fundamental rights enforcement procedures.

He added, “The law is that, in order to seek to uphold the fundamental right to a fair hearing as provided for in Chapter four of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the alleged offense must be committed in connection with a trial process in a court or tribunal established by law.

“There shall be no case of violation of the right to a fair trial under Article 36(1) of the 1999 Constitution when the decision which allegedly violates a person’s constitutional right to a fair trial is the decision of a non-judicial body.”

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“In the instant case, an alleged violation of the right to a fair trial of the applicant (Sowore) was committed against the respondent, which is not provided for in Article 36 (1) of the 1999 Constitution as explained by the judicial authority.

“In view of the above, I am of the opinion that fair hearing is not applicable in the instant case.”

In resolving the second issue, Justice Umar held that the complaint made by the DSS and its Director General regarding Sowore’s August 26, 2025 Facebook post and Meta Incorporated’s decision to delete the post and deactivate his account did not amount to a violation of his rights to freedom of expression and freedom of association, guaranteed under Sections 39 and 40 of the Constitution.

The judge further argued that the rights to freedom of expression and association, like other rights guaranteed by the constitution, are not absolute.

“Expression can be restricted to protect the rights, reputation or privacy of others. This means that if an expression is intended to disparage an individual or group of individuals, the law will not allow it.

This means that the law will not approve any expression that defames others in the name of the constitutional right to freedom of expression.

“This is the reason behind the reduction of basic rights based on Article 45 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended),” he said.

The judge also argued that “the right to freedom of expression is guaranteed under our constitution, providing that citizens must be careful about the reputation of others when they express and disseminate their opinions.”

He added that the DSS and its DG, in complaining to Meta Incorporated that Sowore’s post violated Nigerian law, did not violate his (Sowore’s) rights, but simply took appropriate steps by using Facebook’s reporting channels to report the applicant’s post.

He said, “This court agrees with the submissions of the first and second respondents that any action taken by Facebook was undertaken entirely based on its sole discretion and independent judgment.

“Therefore, this court does not see how the applicant’s freedom of expression and/or association in the circumstances presented has been violated.”

In resolving the third issue, namely whether the applicant was entitled to the relief requested, the judge was of the opinion that the relief requested by the applicant was declaratory in nature, and the applicant was obliged to succeed based on the strength of his case.

The judge said, “A careful examination of the applicant’s statements in the written statement supporting his application shows that the applicant has failed to convince the court that his rights as guaranteed in Articles 36(1), 39 and 41 have been or are likely to be threatened by the respondent.

“This court is of the firm view that the applicant is not entitled to any of the reliefs sought and retained. Overall, I see no merit in this application, and it is hereby dismissed,” Justice Umar said.

Following a costs application made by lawyers to the DSS and its Director General, Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN) and Meta Incorporated counsel, Victoria Bassey, Justice Umar awarded costs of N1.5 million against Sowore, amounting to N500,000 for each of the three respondents.