The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and Amnesty International Nigeria have jointly urged President Bola Tinubu to withdraw criminal charges filed against activist Omoyele Sowore and social media platforms X and Facebook over alleged anti-Tinubu posts.
In a joint letter dated September 20, 2025, signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare and Amnesty Nigeria’s director Isa Sanusi, the groups accused security agencies of weaponising the courts to silence dissent. They called on Tinubu to stop the Department of State Services (DSS) and other security outfits from misusing judicial processes to target critics of his administration.
The organisations also appealed to the President to instruct the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, to push for an anti-SLAPP law at the National Assembly. Such a law, they argued, would protect Nigerians from frivolous lawsuits meant to intimidate or punish public criticism.
According to them, some of the charges against Sowore were brought under the Cybercrimes (Amendment) Act 2024, while others—criminal defamation, causing public fear, and disturbance—were filed under the Criminal Code Act. These charges stem from Sowore’s alleged refusal to take down social media posts critical of Tinubu.
Warning that criminal defamation suits create a “chilling effect” that discourages free expression, SERAP and Amnesty described the government’s approach as inconsistent with the Nigerian Constitution and international human rights standards.
