Court Dismisses Sowore's Suit Against DSS and Meta Platforms

On Thursday, the Federal High Court in Abuja dismissed a fundamental rights enforcement suit filed by Omoyele Sowore against the Department of State Services (DSS) and Meta Platforms Inc. Justice Moham Umar ruled that the suit lacked merit, stating that Sowore was not entitled to the relief sought.

The court awarded costs against Sowore, totaling N1.5 million, which included N500,000 to be paid to the DSS. Sowore's suit stemmed from the removal of a Facebook post that referred to President Bola Tinubu as a criminal, which he claimed violated his rights to fair hearing and freedom of expression.

Justice Umar determined that the allegations made by Sowore did not pertain to fair hearing rights as outlined in Section 36(1) of the 1999 Constitution. Furthermore, the court held that the actions taken by the DSS and Meta did not infringe upon Sowore's rights to freedom of expression, as these rights are not absolute and must consider the protection of others' reputations.