Human rights groups have called on President Bola Tinubu to immediately drop charges against activist Omoyele Sowore, X (formerly Twitter), and Facebook over posts critical of the president.
In a joint letter dated 20 September 2025, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and Amnesty International Nigeria accused the government of weaponising the justice system to silence dissent.
The groups urged Tinubu to instruct Attorney General Lateef Fagbemi to withdraw the case, which was filed by the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Federal Ministry of Justice. Sowore, publisher of Sahara Reporters, faces charges under the Cybercrimes Act and the Criminal Code for refusing to delete social media posts allegedly “anti-Tinubu”.
“SLAPP and criminal defamation lawsuits are neither necessary nor proportionate,” said SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare and Amnesty director Isa Sanusi in the letter. “They chill free speech, undermine democracy and violate the Nigerian Constitution.”
The charges come despite Tinubu’s own Democracy Day pledge in June, where he insisted that “no one should bear the brunt of injustice for merely writing a bad report about me or calling me names.”
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SERAP and Amnesty also pressed Tinubu to push for anti-SLAPP legislation to protect Nigerians from legal harassment by the DSS and other agencies, warning that continued misuse of the Cybercrime (Amendment) Act 2024 threatens democracy.
The rights groups pointed to a pending lawsuit at the ECOWAS Court challenging the Act’s vague provisions, and cited international rulings which emphasise that politicians must tolerate harsh criticism.
The letter warned that if the government fails to act within seven days, the groups will consider further legal action before the ECOWAS Court.
“The use of SLAPP lawsuits is incompatible with democracy. Nigerians have the right to criticise public officials without fear of criminal prosecution,” they said.
