The Amnesty International on Sunday took a swipe at the Department of State Services (DSS) for writing to X to deactivate Omoyele Sowore’s account over post deemed insulting to President Bola Tinubu.
Tinubu had during a state visit to Brazil in August stated that he has ended corruption in Nigeria, a statement Mr Sowore described as lies and went on to refer to Tinubu as criminal.
In a letter to X, the DSS contended that the President’s person was greatly harmed by Sowore’s remarks, calling on the social media platform to pull down the post.
Reacting to the DSS demand, the Amnesty International in a statement condemned the actions of the secret police.
The human rights group sued for caution, adding that the deactivation of Sowore’s X account as demanded by the Nigerian authority amounts to censorship and in breach of freedom of expression under the 1999 Nigeria constitution.
“The DSS targeting of Sowore’s X account is being done without any legal justification, as recognised under international human rights law and this represents a violation of Nigeria’s obligations under the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended] the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Nigeria has ratified both human rights treaties.
“Nigerian authorities must refrain from violating human rights online including the rights to freedom of expression and privacy and fulfil their constitutional and international human rights obligations.
“On its part, X must not yield to censorship demands of the Nigerian government, through targeting the voices of activists, and must do all in its power to protect freedom of expression on its platform.”
