Court, Sowore
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Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday rejected a request by counsel to Omoyele Sowore, Tope Temokun, seeking a one-month adjournment in a case involving the Department of State Services (DSS) and Meta Platforms Inc., owners of Facebook and X.

The judge expressed surprise at the application, noting that the claimant’s lawyer should ordinarily be pushing for a speedy hearing. He therefore overruled the request and fixed May 18 for hearing of the suit.

Sowore had instituted the case in September 2025 against the Department of State Services, its Director-General Oluwatosin Ajayi, Meta Platforms Inc., and X Corp., alleging unconstitutional censorship of his social media accounts. He is asking the court to declare unlawful the DSS request for Meta to delete posts in which he described President Bola Tinubu as a “criminal.”

At Wednesday’s proceedings, Temokun informed the court of a withdrawal and substitution of earlier applications and counter-affidavits filed by Meta’s legal team. Counsel to the DSS, Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), criticised delays caused by Meta’s filings but urged the court to ensure an accelerated hearing of the matter.

Kehinde also opposed any long adjournment, insisting that the case be concluded expeditiously in the interest of justice.

After hearing arguments from all parties, Justice Umar stated that although counsel were free to suggest dates, the court had the final authority on scheduling. He rejected a June 2 proposal by Sowore’s counsel, describing it as too far away, and fixed May 18 for hearing.

The matter is one of several related suits involving Sowore and the DSS. On April 2, the same court dismissed another fundamental rights enforcement suit filed by Sowore against the DSS, its Director-General, and Meta Platforms Inc., awarding ₦1.5 million in costs against him.

LUKMAN ABDULMALIK
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