Human rights lawyer, Festus Ogun, has dragged Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to a Federal High Court in Lagos for allegedly violating his fundamental rights by blocking him on his verified X (formerly Twitter) account.
Ogun urged the court to compel Sanwo-Olu to issue a public apology to him.
In the suit marked FHC/L/CS/1739/25, which he shared via his Facebook page on Friday, Ogun accused the governor of blocking him due to his 2021 “constructive criticisms” and “demand for accountability” over the October 2020 #EndSARS killings.
He posted, “In 2021, I noticed that the Governor blocked me on his official X handle @jidesanwoolu owing to my constructive criticisms of his policies and demand for accountability in respect of the October 2020 #EndSARS Massacre.”
The lawyer stated that the governor had denied him access to important information by blocking him.
Ogun noted, “Blocking me on X has prevented me from accessing public updates and receiving information about policies and governance in Lagos, which constitutes a violation of my right to receive information without interference.”
He also urged the court to declare the action unconstitutional, arbitrary, and discriminatory.
The lawyer sought “a declaration that, as a democratically-elected public office holder in Nigeria, the Respondent (@jidesanwoolu)’s blocking of the Applicant (@mrfestusogun), a citizen of Nigeria and resident of Lagos State, on X (formerly ‘Twitter’) is wrongful, unconstitutional, arbitrary and constitutes a gross.”
Ogun prayed the court to compel Sanwo-Olu to unblock him, issue a public apology, and stop targeting critics online.
“An order of perpetual injunction restraining the Respondent, his agents, privies or any other person or entity acting through or on his behalf, from further blocking the Applicant on X or any other social media platform,” the suit read.
Ogun, who described himself as “haunted, traumatised and emotionally disturbed,” stressed that the matter went beyond his personal grievance.
“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,” he said.
The lawyer also invited the court to take guidance from a 2019 ruling in the United States.
“I invited the Nigerian court to be persuaded by the decision of the US District Court in Knight First Amendment Institute v Trump where President Trump was found to be in violation of the 1st Amendment when he blocked US citizens for criticising him on Twitter,” he stated.
Ogun argued that intolerance to opposing views undermines democracy.
“Intolerance to criticism and accountability is unconstitutional and undemocratic. 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,” he warned.
