Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and Amnesty International have called on President Bola Tinubu to instruct the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, to withdraw charges filed against activist Omoyele Sowore, as well as the owners of social media platforms X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.
The charges, reportedly linked to Sowore’s critical and allegedly ‘anti-Tinubu’ posts on social media, have drawn sharp criticism from rights advocates, who say they represent an attempt to stifle dissent.
In a joint letter signed by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, and Amnesty International Nigeria’s Director, Isa Sanusi, the organisations urged the President to direct the Department of State Services (DSS) and other law enforcement agencies to desist from misusing judicial processes to silence public criticism. They warned against the increasing resort to Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) as a tool of harassment.
The groups further pressed Tinubu to mandate the preparation of an anti-SLAPP bill for the National Assembly, aimed at safeguarding Nigerians from the weaponisation of the justice system by security and law enforcement agencies.
According to the statement, “the weaponisation 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.”
They also noted that a case challenging the legality of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) (Amendment) Act 2024, with regard to its compatibility with the right to freedom of expression, is currently before the ECOWAS Court.
The groups argued that the use of SLAPPs and criminal defamation suits to intimidate critics undermines democracy and the rule of law, stressing that such actions restrict public participation and erode fundamental freedoms.
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