Meta disables Facebook account of Nigerian anti-witch-hunt activist Leo Igwe
by Dr. Piyush Mathur
Earlier last week, Meta Platforms—the US-based technology conglomerate that owns Facebook—disabled Nigeria’s human rights-and-rationalism activist Leo Igwe’s Facebook account, he told Thoughtfox on January 12, Sunday, via a separate messenger system.
To his surprise, Igwe—the Nigeria-based social and educational reformer and prominent crusader against Africa’s self-styled witch hunters—had encountered a notice on his Facebook account informing him that his account had not been conforming with the platform’s ‘Community Standards’. Via Facebook’s appeal system, Igwe requested the company to reconsider its decision. His appeal was denied, prompting him to escalate it to the system’s last stage.
However, Igwe’s efforts went in vain when on January 12, he was given what reads like the final verdict by Meta Platforms on his appeals. The verdict, whose screenshot was shared by Igwe with Thoughtfox (and is posted below), states that his account had continued not to follow Meta’s ‘Community Standards on fraud and deception.’ Perhaps more important, the verdict adds the following: ‘You cannot request another review of this decision.’
This is a screen shot of Meta Platforms’ final notice to Leo Igwe regarding his Facebook account’s disablement.
Igwe is now considering his legal options within Nigeria, given that Meta Platforms has an office in Lagos. Igwe’s supporters are also planning to initiate an online campaign to press Meta Platforms to revoke its decision to disable his Facebook account, which is critical to his activist campaigns against coercive, violent witch hunters and irrationalists. When, and if, such a campaign has started, its link would be added to this report. (Editorial update, January 14, 2025: An online campaign has been initiated supporting Igwe’s attempt to get his Facebook account re-enabled; readers can check the link to the petition at the bottom of this report.)
Leo Igwe, Nigeria’s pre-eminent crusader against Africa’s witch-hunters and coercive irrationalists (Photo credit: Humanists International)
Thoughtfox carried an extensive interview with Igwe on July 15, 2024 regarding his activism; this interview could be accessed here.
The disabling of Igwe’s account comes at a time when Meta Platforms’ chairman, chief executive officer and controlling shareholder Mark Zuckerberg has been busy trying to bring his social media enterprises into close conformity with the ideological priorities of the new US administration, which would begin to operate under Donald Trump on January 20, 2025.
Aside from donating USD 1 million to Trump’s inauguration ceremony, Meta Platforms has quickly dismantled its fact-checking operations as well as Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) programmes; moreover, tampons had been ordered to be removed earlier last week from its companies’ male bathrooms in a reversal of the company’s policy to recognize ‘non-binary’ individuals. While Zuckerberg has been giving out interviews (in the run up to Trump’s inaugural) telling the public that these steps are being taken to reduce or remove censorship on Meta Platforms, the disablement of Igwe’s account points to something quite else somehow.
(Update on January 14, 2025)
Please sign the online petition to Meta Platforms to restore Leo Igwe’s Facebook account: Click here!
Or, type the following URL on your search bar to get to the petition:
https://www.change.org/restore-leo-igwe-facebook-account-stop-witch-hunt