Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Thursday dismissed a fundamental rights enforcement suit filed by politician and online publisher Omoyele Sowore against the Department of State Services (DSS), its Director General, and Meta Platforms Incorporated (formerly Facebook).
Sowore had claimed that Meta, allegedly acting on the DSS’s directive, removed a post he made on August 26, 2025, referring to President Bola Tinubu as a “criminal” and deactivated his account, arguing this violated his rights to fair hearing, freedom of expression, and association.
In his ruling, Justice Umar held that Sowore’s claims of violation of the right to fair hearing were misplaced, noting that such rights under Section 36(1) of the 1999 Constitution apply to judicial or quasi-judicial proceedings, not actions taken by non-judicial bodies like Meta.
On the issues of freedom of expression and association, the judge stated that these rights are not absolute and can be curtailed to protect the rights and reputation of others. He emphasized that Meta acted independently under its policies after DSS raised concerns, and no constitutional violation occurred.
Regarding Sowore’s entitlement to reliefs, Justice Umar held that he failed to establish that his rights were infringed or threatened. Consequently, the suit was dismissed for lacking merit.
The court also awarded N1.5 million in costs against Sowore, to be paid to the three respondents at N500,000 each.