The Foundation for Digital Justice and Sustainable Development has filed a lawsuit against TikTok Inc. at the Federal High Court in Abuja over alleged restrictions affecting users in Kano, Kaduna, Kebbi and Sokoto states.
The foundation, through its counsel, Festus Ogun, filed the suit on October 5, asking the court to determine whether the alleged restrictions violate Nigerians’ constitutional rights to freedom of expression and protection from discrimination.
According to the organisation, users in the four states began experiencing difficulties accessing TikTok around September 11, with the platform reportedly becoming largely inaccessible by September 14. Affected users have reportedly experienced problems loading videos, refreshing feeds and uploading content through ordinary mobile-data connections.
The foundation is seeking an order compelling TikTok to restore access and preventing the company from imposing similar restrictions without lawful justification. It is also asking for a public apology over the alleged infringement of users’ rights.
However, the precise cause of the disruption remains unclear. Civil society groups have called for an independent technical investigation to establish whether the problem resulted from a technical fault, routing issue, platform-side problem or intentional restriction.
The case could therefore bring wider attention to digital access, freedom of expression and the responsibilities of technology platforms operating in Nigeria.
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