Foundation Sues TikTok Over Access Blackout In Kano, Kaduna, Two Other Northern States

The Foundation for Digital Justice and Sustainable Development has sued TikTok Inc. at the Federal High Court in Abuja over alleged restrictions on access to the social media platform in Kaduna, Kano, Kebbi and Sokoto states.

The organization, through its lead counsel, Festus Ogun of Festus Ogun Legal (FOLEGAL), filed the suit on October 5, 2026, under the Fundamental Rights Enforcement Procedure (FREP) Rules, 2009.

The suit, marked FHC/AB/CS/2409/2026, is seeking declarations and orders directing TikTok to restore access to users in the affected states and stop what the organization described as arbitrary restrictions.

The Foundation is alleging that the restrictions violate Nigerians’ constitutional rights to freedom of expression and freedom from discrimination.

In an affidavit filed in support of the suit, a legal officer with the organization, Abidat Idowu, said TikTok users in the four states began experiencing difficulties accessing the platform around September 11.

She stated that by September 14, access to TikTok had become “completely restricted and inaccessible to millions of Nigerian Users in Kaduna, Kano, Kebbi and Sokoto States.”

According to the affidavit, users on standard mobile data connections experienced frozen feeds while scrolling, videos that failed to load and repeated delays when attempting to upload content.

“These users cannot load videos, refresh their feeds and upload content on TikTok,” Idowu stated.

The Foundation alleged that the disruption had deprived affected users of access to information and prevented them from participating in online discourse.

“Millions of Nigerian Users in Kaduna, Kano, Kebbi and Sokoto States are left out of access to information, they cannot disseminate information, they cannot receive information and cannot express their opinions on the Respondent’s TikTok’s platform owing to the restriction and/or disruption,” the affidavit stated.

It also alleged that some affected users had been able to regain normal access through virtual private networks (VPNs),which can make an internet connection appear to originate from another location.

The organization claimed that users in other parts of Nigeria continued to have unrestricted access to the platform.

“Disturbingly, except in Kaduna, Kano, Kebbi and Sokoto States, users in all other parts of Nigeria continue to enjoy unrestricted and unfettered access and usage of Respondent’s TikTok App,” Idowu stated.

The Foundation further alleged that TikTok had not provided an explanation for the difference in access between users in the four states and those in other parts of the country.

“The Respondent has also not provided any explanation for the obvious exclusion, discrimination and restriction of access against all TikTok users in Kaduna, Kano, Kebbi and Sokoto States,” the affidavit said.

The organization is asking the court to determine whether the alleged restriction violates Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression, and Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

It is also asking the court to determine whether the alleged differential treatment of users in Kaduna, Kano, Kebbi and Sokoto violates Section 42 of the Constitution and Article 2 of the African Charter, which protect against discrimination.

The Foundation argued that TikTok had become important beyond entertainment, describing the platform as significant for communication, journalism, business, civic participation, and political and social discourse.

“The Respondent’s platform is very critical for communication, journalism, civic participation, business, political and social discourse in Nigeria and the restriction of millions of TikTok users in Kaduna, Kano, Kebbi and Sokoto States has unduly excluded them,” it said.

The organization also argued that activities such as posting, viewing, liking, reposting and replying to content constituted forms of expression affected by the alleged restrictions.

The affidavit stated, “restricted accounts like those of millions of TikTok users in Kaduna, Kano, Kebbi and Sokoto States are prevented from making post, viewing any post made on TikTok, replying to post, reposting or liking them.”

It added that “Replying, posting, reposting and liking are all ‘expressive conduct’ that the Respondent’s restriction inhibits.”

The Foundation further claimed that the alleged restrictions had effectively excluded residents of the four states from what it described as a public forum.

“By restricting millions of TikTok users in Kaduna, Kano, Kebbi and Sokoto States, the Respondent has excluded citizens of Nigeria resident in the states from a public forum,” the affidavit stated.

Reliefs Sought

The organisation is seeking five principal orders from the Federal High Court.

It wants the court to declare the alleged restrictions “wrongful, unconstitutional, arbitrary” and a violation of the right to freedom of expression.

It is also asking the court to declare that restricting users in the four states while allowing users elsewhere in Nigeria to continue accessing TikTok amounts to a violation of the right to freedom from discrimination.

The Foundation is further seeking an order directing TikTok to immediately remove the alleged restrictions and a perpetual injunction restraining the company from imposing similar restrictions on users in the affected states or elsewhere in Nigeria without lawful justification.

It is also asking the court to order TikTok to publish a public apology in three newspapers with nationwide circulation within seven days of judgment for what it described as the violation of the applicant’s fundamental rights.

The Foundation said the action was necessary to protect digital rights and uphold the rule of law.

“This lawsuit is imperative for the enforcement of fundamental rights to freedom of expression and freedom from discrimination and preservation of the rule of law,” the affidavit stated.

It added, “Unless the reliefs sought herein are granted by this Honourable Court, the Respondent will continue to violate the fundamental rights of millions of TikTok users in Kaduna, Kano, Kebbi and Sokoto States, with reckless abandon.”

The suit lists TikTok Inc., of 5800 Bristol Parkway, Suite 100, Culver City, California, United States, as the respondent.

The matter was filed before the Federal High Court in the Abuja Judicial Division.