A lawyer, Festus Ogun, resident in Lagos State, has filed a suit against Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for blocking him on X since 2021, after he made a post criticising the governor’s handling of the October 2020 #EndSARS massacre at Lekki Tollgate.

The legal practitioner, who filed the suit at a Federal High Court in Lagos, relying on sections 37, 39, 42, 45, and 46 of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution (as amended), said Mr Sanwo-Olu’s action violated his freedom of expression, which has “haunted, traumatised, and emotionally disturbed” him.

Mr Ogun, in a post on X, said, “I have filed a lawsuit at the Federal High Court against the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, for blocking me on his verified X (formerly Twitter) handle. 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 that was perpetrated under his watch.

“It is my case that blocking me on X has prevented me from accessing public updates and receiving information about policies and governance in Lagos (since he uses the X account to post only official policies and governance matters), which constitutes a violation of my right to receive information without interference, subsumed under the right to freedom of expression.

“Also, by blocking me owing to my criticism of his administration and my demand for transparency, the Governor has violated my fundamental rights to freedom from discrimination on the basis of political viewpoint or opinion.”

Referring to a decision of the U.S. District Court in Knight First Amendment Institute v. Trump, which found Mr Trump guilty of violating the First Amendment when he blocked U.S. citizens for criticising him on Twitter, Mr Ogun stated that intolerance to criticism and accountability is unconstitutional and undemocratic.

Stating that his suit against the governor is in the public interest and with the hope that it sets a precedent in digital rights jurisprudence, Mr Ogun condemned the federal government’s repression and continued, “crackdown on dissent, critics, journalists, bloggers, and vocal citizens on social media, using arrests, detention, surveillance, collusion with big techs, and outright blocking as weapons.”

According to him, the narrative must stop, as he urged the judiciary to put an end to it.