00:00Two separate courts in the Nigeria Federal Capital Territory, Abuja on Tuesday fixed October 27 and November 20, 2025 for the commencement of the lawsuits brought before them by the founder and publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omiyele Sawari and the Department of State Service.
00:18The SS overissue of posts published on X and Facebook social media platforms that allegedly described President Bola Ahmed Talubu as a criminal after the President allegedly said there is no more corruption in Nigeria while the President was speaking at an event in Brazil in the month of August, 2025.
00:37According to Omiyele Sawari's lawyer, Tote Temokan, today, at the Federal High Court in Abuja, proceedings commenced in the historic cases filed by rights activist Omiyele Sawari challenging the clampdown on free speech and political expression by the Department of State Services, SSS, in collusion with global social media giants Meta, Facebook, Instagram, and X Corporation, Twitter.
01:04The suits are, Omiyele Sawari vs. SSS and Meta, FHC, ABJ, CS, 1887-2025.
01:15Omiyele Sawari vs. SSS and X Corporation, FHC, ABJ, CS, 1888-2025.
01:24Sawari was represented by a formidable team of lawyers, led by Tote Temokan, Abu Bakar Marshall, Alexander Aketa, Dr. S.M. Oyaher, Dr. Maxwell Opara, Akin Sawari, and Ako J. Sabah.
01:41Representation for the respondents, Meta appeared through Mifesimo Teo Yetibo, San, X Corporation and the DSS had no counsel present in court.
01:51Proceedings. The court granted motions ex-party filed by Sawari's counsel for leave to serve Meta and X Corporation outside jurisdiction through electronic means.
02:03The originating motion against Meta was also served in court on Meta's counsel.
02:07Adjournment. The court adjourned both matters to November 20, 2025, for hearing.
02:15These suits filed, following the DSS attempted censorship of Sawari's social media post, calling the president a criminal,
02:23mark a significant stand against both local repression and international collaboration in silencing dissenting voices.
02:29Sawari insists that no government agency or foreign corporation has the right to muzzle Nigerians in the digital space,
02:37Barrister Tote Temokan stated on September 30, 2025.
02:42At a separate court where the federal government of Nigeria filed a five-count charges against the news media publisher,
02:49Omiyele Sawari and the DSS had planned to arraign the publisher before the court.
02:54Vanguard newspaper reported that, when the matter came up, Sawari's counsel, Marshal Abu Bakar, objected to the charges being read,
03:03arguing that his client had not been properly served.
03:06He also noted the absence of legal representation for X.
03:11However, Meta was represented in court by a team led by senior advocate of Nigeria, Teo Ayetebo.
03:18Justice Mohamed Umar, presiding, directed that Sawari be served in court,
03:24an order not opposed by any of the parties, including Mohamed Babadoko, director of public.
03:30Information from the Nigerian presidency has indicated that there is a plan by President Bola Ahmed Tanubu
03:36to begin legal action against the country former president.
03:40Good luck of Ele Jonathan over sustained and continuous rumors in certain quarters
03:44that ex-president Jonathan may have indicated interest to recontest as Nigeria president in 2027.
03:52This, the special advisor to President Bola Ahmed Tanubu on information and strategy,
03:57Bayo Onanuga said Jonathan is welcome to join the 2027 presidential electoral race.
04:04But Jonathan will have his date in the court of the land.
04:07Indeed, the jury will determine whether Jonathan, who was sworn in twice as president,
04:12satisfies the constitutional requirements and is eligible to contest the presidency and be sworn in,
04:18if successful, for a third term in office.
04:22It would be recalled that ex-president Jonathan was one of the most criticized presidents in Nigeria,
04:27with politicians, including President Bola Ahmed Tanubu who was then a chieftain of the Action Congress of Nigeria,
04:35ACN forming a coalition of all progressives Congress, APC to defeat the incumbent president in 2015.
04:43Currently, there is also a coalition formed by politicians in Nigeria,
04:48the African Democratic Congress, ADC to defeat and remove President Tanubu from office in 2027
04:55and lately, reports indicated that the former president,
04:58good luck Jonathan is considering joining the African Democratic Congress, ADC,
05:03but no official announcement has been made.
05:06The speculation intensified after Jonathan met with ADC national chairman, David Mark in late September 2025,
05:14amidst ongoing discussions about the 2027 presidential election.
05:19And Jonathan's closed-door meeting with ADC leaders on September 25, 2025,
05:26fueled widespread speculation about his potential run for the presidency on their platform.
05:32In a statement issued on Monday,
05:34Bayo Onanuga, the spokesperson to President Bola Ahmed Tanubu, said,
05:39As we begin the march towards the 2027 elections prematurely foisted on the nation by the desperation of the opposition
05:47ganging up against President Bola Tanubu despite his glaring giant economic strides,
05:53we are once again regaled with a cacophony of voices, most of them full of sound and fury,
05:58signifying nothing, to paraphrase inimitable Williams Shakespeare in one of his classic works, Macbeth.
06:05One recent statement that stands out in its absurdity is Professor Jerry Garner's.
06:11The former Minister of Information and National Orientation,
06:14moving to draft former President Goodluck Jonathan into the 2007 presidential race,
06:21affirmed that the former president would contest the coming election on the platform of the
06:25Discredited People's Democratic Party, PDP, which bequeathed a legacy of economic ruins,
06:31after 16 years of bad governance.
06:33Garner even deluded himself, asserting that the former president would defeat President Tanubu
06:39to reclaim power after 12 years.
06:42Professor, Garner of the defunct MAMSER fame is free to delude himself and engage in his usual comedy.
06:50After all, Jonathan's entering the race would provide another job for the Niger state-born former
06:56university don.
06:57However, we should caution former Israel Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday stated
07:04that many world leaders who do come out publicly to condemn the Israel war in Gaza,
07:09do privately thank Israel for staging the war against Hamas,
07:13and according to Benjamin Netanyahu, the world leaders, tell me how much they value Israel's
07:19superb intelligence services that have prevented time and again terrorist attacks in their capitals,
07:24time and again saving countless lives.
07:27General George Keegan, former head of U.S. Air Force Intelligence, once said,
07:33if the United States had to gather on its own the intelligence that Israel gives us,
07:37we would have to establish five CIs, five CIs, this past June, when Israel struck Iran's nuclear
07:45facilities, German Chancellor Mertz admitted the truth, this, Benjamin Netanyahu stated when
07:51the speech was being broadcast live via huge loudspeakers that were placed on the Gaza border
07:57while the Israel Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu was speaking at the United Nations General Assembly,
08:04which, his appearance drew a mix of applause and protest, with some delegates walking out of the
08:10hall as he took the stage. You know deep down that Israel is fighting your fight. I want to tell you
08:16a secret, behind closed doors, many of the leaders who publicly condemn us, privately thank us,
08:23Benjamin Netanyahu stated in response. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated and blamed the
08:29Israel war in Gaza on Iran, saying, Iran terror axis threatened the peace of the entire world.
08:36Some parts of the long speech by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the United Nations General
08:42Assembly are presented verbatim below. Mr. President, the families of our dear hostages
08:48languishing in the dungeons of Gaza, ladies and gentlemen, last year, I stood at this podium,
08:54and I showed this map. It shows the curse of Iran's terror axis. This axis threatened the peace of the
09:02entire world. It threatened the stability of our region and the very existence of my country Israel.
09:08Iran was rapidly developing a massive nuclear weapons program and a massive ballistic missile
09:14program. These were meant not only to destroy Israel, they were meant also to threaten the United
09:20States and blackmail nations everywhere. From Gaza, Yehia Sinwar dispatched waves of Hamas terrorists.
09:27They stormed into Israel on October 7 and committed acts of unspeakable savagery.
09:33From Lebanon, Hassan Nasrallah had launched thousands of missiles and rockets at our cities,
09:39terrorizing our citizens. In Syria, the murderous dictator Assad hosted Iran's forces,
09:45tightening a noose of death around our throats. In Yemen, the Houthis launched ballistic missiles
09:51at Israel, while choking global trade at the mouth of the Red Sea. So what's happened over the past year?
09:58We've hammered the Houthis, including yesterday. We crushed the bulk of Hamas's terror machine.
10:04We crippled Hezbollah, taking out most of its leaders and much of its weapons arsenal.
10:09Remember those beepers, the pages? We paged Hezbollah, and believe me, they got the message
10:16and thousands of terrorists dropped to the ground. We destroyed Assad's armaments in Syria.
10:22We deterred Iran's Shiite militias in Iraq. And most importantly, and above everything else
10:28that I can say to you all that we...
10:30Osters who are on level, bringing youth to news in a more digital way.
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