Sowore Criticizes Double Standards on Free Speech and Cybercrime Enforcement
Human rights activist Omoyele Sowore has criticized what he describes as inconsistencies in how freedom of expression is treated in Nigeria, particularly regarding celebrities and ordinary citizens.
He referenced old social media posts attributed to singer Adekunle Gold in 2012, where the artist openly criticized then-President Goodluck Jonathan, noting that such expressions were widely accepted at the time as free speech.
He said
This was @AdekunleGold in 2012 openly criticizing then President @GoodluckJonathan. Back then, it was rightly called free speech, and if he had been arrested for those tweets, we would have been on the streets demanding his immediate release.How then does someone who benefited from freedom of expression turn around years later to use the police, courts, and the brutal cybercrime framework against ordinary Nigerians over online banter and social media exchanges?You cannot enjoy free speech when you are powerless and criminalize it the moment you become influential.
Freedom of expression must apply to everyone, celebrities, politicians, activists, and poor young Nigerians on social media alike.The Nigeria Police Force @PoliceNG must stop acting as a private army for the rich and famous, while the judiciary must stop handing down outrageous punishments over internet speech that should never be criminal matters in the first place.”
