SERAP, Amnesty Urge Tinubu to Drop Cybercrime and Defamation Charges Against Sowore, X, and Facebook

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and Amnesty International have called on President Bola Tinubu to order the immediate withdrawal of charges filed against activist Omoyele Sowore, as well as X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook, over alleged “anti-Tinubu” social media posts.

In a joint letter dated September 20, 2025, signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare and Amnesty International Nigeria director Isa Sanusi, the groups urged Tinubu to instruct Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), to end what they described as “the misuse of judicial processes to silence public criticism.”

They further asked Tinubu to direct the Department of State Services (DSS) and other security agencies to stop employing Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) and to push for an anti-SLAPP law to safeguard freedom of expression.

According to the groups, “The weaponization of the justice system to crack down on peaceful dissent is entirely inconsistent with the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended] and the country’s international human rights obligations.”

The letter noted that a lawsuit challenging the legality of the Cybercrime (Amendment) Act 2024 is already pending before the ECOWAS Court. They stressed that pending the court’s ruling, security agencies “cannot and should not use the amended Act to silence peaceful dissent.”

The groups emphasized:

“Freedom of expression is a fundamental human right and indispensable to democracy. Politicians and public officials should expect far greater criticism than ordinary individuals. Courts and human rights mechanisms worldwide have rejected the use of defamation laws to suffocate dissent.”

They also reminded Tinubu of his own Democracy Day speech on June 12, 2025, in which he stated:

“No one should bear the brunt of injustice for merely writing a bad report about me or calling me names. Democracy requires a fair degree of tolerance for harsh words and stinging insults. Call me names, call me whatever you will, and I will still call upon democracy to defend your right to do so.”

The charges against Sowore, X, and Facebook—filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja on September 16, 2025—include two counts under the Cybercrimes Act and three others under the Criminal Code Act, alleging criminal defamation, public disturbance, and incitement.

SERAP and Amnesty warned that SLAPP lawsuits “pose serious risks to democracy and the rule of law as they limit public participation.” They requested the government withdraw the cases within seven days or face legal action before the ECOWAS Court.

The groups also cited previous DSS-initiated suits, including one against Professor Pat Utomi in May 2025, accusing him of forming a “shadow government,” and another filed against SERAP in 2024.

They concluded:

“Any restrictions on free expression must meet the conditions of legality, necessity, and proportionality. Criminal defamation and SLAPP lawsuits are incompatible with democracy and international human rights standards.”