By Frank Ulom
A Nigerian lawyer and rights activist, First Baba Isa Esq., has narrated how Facebook deactivated his account and reactivated it after he threatened to sue the tech giant.
Recent complaints from users show that Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has been shadow-banning and deactivating accounts, especially from developing countries like Nigeria, without a clear-cut reason.
The company got a snap of its medicine after deactivating the account of Isa, popularly referred to as FBI, on January 6, 2026.
Airing his ordeal in a Facebook post titled “How Facebook Deactivated My Account And Reactivated It After I Threatened To Sue,” Isa wrote:
“On the 6th of January, 2026, I got an email from Facebook stating that my account had been suspended for violating their community standards. I was told I had 180 days to appeal. I appealed immediately and I was told that my review was unsuccessful and my account was permanently disabled.
“I wrote them two emails which they ignored. I felt like, hmmmmm, these people don’t know who they are joking with. I decided to take my annual break from Facebook. During this period some people advised that I open a new account and forget my old account. They were certain that Facebook would never accept a request to reactivate a permanently disabled account. I blatantly refused. I vowed to get my account back. I’m a human being, privileged to even be a lawyer, I have rights, I didn’t do anything wrong, I will not be pushed around by some algorithms that have never swallowed eba and afang soup.
“Last week, when I was ready to return to Facebook, to celebrate Arsenal’s failures, I wrote a scathing demand letter and sent it via DHL to their office in California. In the letter, I only asked them one Nigerian question: “Do you know who I am?” I told them that if they don’t reactivate my account within 7 days ehn, I will use them to practice law for the next 10 years, from the High Court to the Supreme Court. Three days after they received my letter, here we are.
“Seriously, though, I want to thank the Facebook Legal Department for seeing reason beyond their algorithms and artificial intelligence. As I send 4 more letters this week, on behalf of my clients whose accounts were also deactivated unjustly, I hope for nothing less than this quick intervention.
“I miss you all, guys. How una dey? From the bottom of my heart, I pray that God bless you all and keep Arsenal far away from trophies. Amen.”
