Human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, has petitioned Meta Platforms Inc, urging the tech giant to reject a request by Nigeria’s Department of State Services, DSS, to deactivate the Facebook account of activist Omoyele Sowore.
In the letter addressed to Meta on Monday, Effiong described the DSS demand as unlawful, unconstitutional, and a threat to the right to freedom of expression.
The petition comes after DSS wrote to social media giants, Meta and X incorporated, demanding the deactivation of Sowore’s social media handles.
The State agency had accused the activist of posting ‘unsavoury’ things about the Nigerian President, maligning his character.
However, the lawyer argued that the laws cited by the DSS in its petition were irrelevant and that Sowore’s post did not breach Meta’s Community Standards.
“We enjoin Meta to see the sinister demand by the SSS for what it truly is: an egregious effort to massage the ego of the Nigerian President; an effort predicated on grounds that are legally unfounded in an attempt to undermine Nigeria’s democratic journey and foist tyranny on the country,” he said.
