A Lagos-based human rights lawyer, Festus Ogun, has filed a lawsuit against Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, for allegedly violating his fundamental rights by blocking him on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The suit was filed at the Federal High Court in Lagos and announced by Mr Ogun on Friday through his Facebook page.
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He alleged that the governor blocked his account, @mrfestusogun, in 2021 after he criticised government policies and demanded accountability over the October 2020 #EndSARS protest killings.
According to Mr Ogun, the action has deprived him of access to official updates and information about governance in Lagos, which he described as a violation of his constitutional rights.
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“This suit is not just about me. I have filed this lawsuit in furtherance of public interest and with the hope that it sets a precedent in our digital rights jurisprudence.
“Nigerian authorities continue to crack down on dissents, critics, journalists, bloggers and vocal citizens on social media, using arrests, detention, surveillance, collusion with big techs and outright blocking, as weapons. That narrative must stop and we have a collective duty to invite the judiciary to put an end to it,” he said.
He said the case was filed pursuant to sections 37, 39, 42, 45 and 46 of the Nigerian onstitution as well as relevant provisions of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
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In the originating summons dated 29 August, the lawyer asked the court to determine whether blocking him on X violated his right to freedom of expression and whether the governor’s action amounted to discrimination based on his political opinions and criticisms of government policies.
Mr Ogun urging the court to declare the governor’s action arbitrary, unconstitutional and discriminatory.
He is also seeking an order compelling Governor Sanwo-Olu to immediately unblock his account, a perpetual injunction restraining the governor and his agents from blocking him or any other citizen on social media, a public apology to be published on the governor’s verified X handle within seven days of judgement, and compensation for emotional distress allegedly caused by the action.
The lawyer stressed that the case goes beyond his personal grievance, insisting that it is about setting a precedent in Nigeria’s digital rights jurisprudence.
He argued that since the governor uses his verified handle for official communication, blocking citizens amounts to denying them access to public information.
Mr Ogun urged the Nigerian court to be persuaded by the 2019 ruling in the United States in the case of Knight First Amendment Institute v. Trump, where a federal court held that former President Donald Trump violated citizens’ rights by blocking them on Twitter.
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He warned that intolerance to criticism undermines democracy, noting that Nigerian authorities have continued to use arrests, detention, surveillance, collusion with big tech companies and outright blocking as weapons against dissenting voices.
When contacted for comments on the suit, Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Lawal Pedro, who is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), did not respond to a text message as of the time of filing this report.
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