SERAP and Amnesty call Tinubu to drop Sowore charges, warning that SLAPP lawsuits and cybercrime laws are being misused to silence dissent

In a joint letter dated 20 September 2025, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and Amnesty International Nigeria urged Tinubu to halt what they described as the “misuse of judicial processes” by security agencies to stifle dissent.

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The groups asked the President to direct Attorney General Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) to propose an anti-SLAPP law to prevent lawsuits designed to silence criticism.

The charges against Sowore, filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja on 16 September, stemmed from his refusal to delete online posts critical of Tinubu.

Two counts were brought under the Cybercrimes (Amendment) Act 2024, while three others — criminal defamation, causing public fear and disturbance — were filed under the Criminal Code Act.

In their strongly worded appeal, the groups said the “weaponisation of the justice system to crack down on peaceful dissent” violates Nigeria’s Constitution and international obligations.

They noted that a case challenging the Cybercrime Act 2024 is already pending before the ECOWAS Court, making the ongoing charges against Sowore and others premature.

SERAP and Amnesty stressed that SLAPP lawsuits pose a grave threat to democracy and freedom of expression, warning that the chilling effect of such prosecutions limits public participation and erodes trust in government.

The organisations reminded Tinubu of his own Democracy Day speech, where he declared that repression of voices breeds chaos and that democracy must protect the right to criticise leaders.

They also cited a 2022 ECOWAS Court ruling, which ordered Nigeria to stop prosecuting citizens under the Cybercrime Act for “insulting public officials online.”

The letter gave Tinubu seven days to act, warning that failure to withdraw the charges would prompt “all appropriate legal actions, including before the ECOWAS Court of Justice.”

For Sowore, who confirmed the charges in a Facebook post, the prosecution underscores a widening battle over free speech in Nigeria.

He wrote that the Department of State Services had filed a “novel” five-count charge against him and the platforms, simply because he called the President a criminal.

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The SERAP and Amnesty call now places fresh pressure on the Tinubu administration to reconcile its stated democratic commitments with the realities of Nigeria’s shrinking civic space.