The Department of State Services, DSS, has asked X handle to deactivate and ban the account owned by Omoyele Sowore after he posted a disparaging opinion on President Bola Tinubu.
The request by DSS was conveyed in a petition to the Chairman and CEO X Corp. Bastrop County, Texas USA issued by B. Bamigboye, on behalf of the Director General DSS.
The DSS official petition posted on its X handle on September 6 reads in part: “The said tweet is still in circulation and has attracted widespread condemnation by majority of Nigerians, some of whom may resort to unwholesome activities to vent their grievance over it, especially supporters of the President who have started taking to the streets in protest, thereby creating political tension and threatening the country’s national security. This is in addition to the disparaging effect the tweet has on the reputation of Mr. President and the country before the comity of nations.
“The tweet under reference is against the transparency on X and Government has frowned at it and found it extremely dangerous, false, privacy violation behavior that manipulate and negatively impacts on the person of the President and the Country.
Also Read: Prosecute Sowore for serial blackmail- CSOs
“It is pertinent to bring to your knowledge that under the Nigerian Law, these quoted tweets/words constitute offence punishable in Section 51 of the Criminal Code Act Cap.77 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, which prohibits publication of false information; Sections 19,22 and 24 of the Cyber Crimes Act 2025 which prohibits and makes it an offence to spread fake news or publishing content that is deliberately misleading or deceptive, posting content that is rude, vulgar, offensive, or indecent, especially with the intent to embarrass or humiliate others, provoke ethnic, religious, or tribal hatred through online or offline statements; amounting to domestic terrorism. The Law also makes the offender and the medium through which the offence is perpetrated/propagated culpable and criminally liable too.
“The author and purveyor of the inflammatory online publication against Mr. President is very much aware that the publication is also prohibited by Section 2(3) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022 and other relevant Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“It is not in doubt that the words employed by Mr. Omoyele Sowore is misleading information, online harassment and abuse, willful intention of furthering an ideology capable of serious harm, hate speech, cause disunity, discredit/disparage the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria within the Comity of Nations to damage the image of Nigeria and cause serious threat to national security of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“It is against the above highlighted backdrop that we make an immediate and urgent demand on your Corporation to as a matter of its own policy, immediately TAKE DOWN the tweet and its attendant re-tweets.
“This demand is unequivocal with its attendant consequence. Should you fail, neglect and refuse to comply with the command in this notice, the Federal Government will be compelled to take far-reaching, sweeping and across-the-board measures through our Organization, whose mandate covers such criminal acts.”
X confirms petition, seeks redress
Human rights activist and publisher, Omoyele Sowore has confirmed being contacted by X Corp over petition by the DSS against his post on President Bola Tinubu.
The DSS had in its petition to the Chairman and CEO X Corp on Saturday, specifically cited post @YeleSowore on 25th August, 2025 about 11:38 PM local time (2338 hours) WAT disparaging and ridiculing the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
In the petition, the DSS cited the implications of the said post and its potential consequential effects on the person of President Bola Tinubu and Nigeria as a whole on the comity of nations.
‘It is against the above highlighted backdrop that we make an immediate and urgent demand on your Corporation to as a matter of its own policy, immediately TAKE DOWN the tweet and its attendant re-tweets”, DSS stressed.
Sowore has however, vowed not to take down the post but indicated exploring other options available to him.
“This morning, X (formerly Twitter) officially contacted me about the despicable threat letter they received from the lawless DSS over my Tweet on Tinubu. One option I will NOT be taking is deleting that Tweet. Thank you, @X”, Sowore wrote on his X handle @YeleSowore.
The details of the X Corp contact with Sowore reads:
Hello @YeleSowore,
In the interest of transparency, we are writing to inform you that X has received a request from Department of State Services regarding your X account, @YeleSowore, that claims the following content violates the law(s) of Nigeria.
@YeleSowore
We have not taken any action on the reported content at this time as a result of this request.
As X strongly believes in defending and respecting the voice of our users, it is our policy to notify our users if we receive a legal request from an authorized entity (such as law enforcement or a government agency) to remove content from their account. We provide notice whether or not the user lives in the country where the request originated.
We understand that receiving this type of notice can be an unsettling experience. While X is not able to provide legal advice, we want you to have an opportunity to evaluate the request and, if you wish, take appropriate action to protect your interests.
This may include seeking legal counsel and challenging the request in court, contacting relevant civil society organizations, voluntarily deleting the content (if applicable), or finding some other resolution. For more information on legal requests X receives from governments worldwide, please refer to this article on our Help Center and our biannual Transparency Report:
help.x.com/en/rules-and-p…
transparency.x.com
Sincerely,
X
Reacting before X responded Sowore in a post on Facebook said: ” I had seen it coming since last Tuesday, when a group of hired DSS protesters paraded around the Federal High Court and the Federal Ministry of Justice, chanting that I should “leave Tinubu alone,” even demanding that the DSS arrest me.
Sowore adamant
“So it came as no surprise to discover a ridiculously crafted letter from the DSS to X (formerly Twitter), demanding that my Twitter account be deactivated within 24 hours. I won’t be surprised if the same has been extended to my @Facebook page, where similar views have gained currency against Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and redundant, corrupt, and non-performing state governors. The brazenness of this is not only”.
Read the full text of Sowore’s reaction below:
“This morning I woke up to yet another act of national disgrace, an assault on institutions, and on common sense. I had seen it coming since last Tuesday, when a group of hired DSS protesters paraded around the Federal High Court and the Federal Ministry of Justice, chanting that I should “leave Tinubu alone,” even demanding that the DSS arrest me.
“So it came as no surprise to discover a ridiculously crafted letter from the DSS to X (formerly Twitter), demanding that my Twitter account be deactivated within 24 hours. I won’t be surprised if the same has been extended to my @Facebook page, where similar views have gained currency against Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and redundant, corrupt, and non-performing state governors. The brazenness of this is not only unconstitutional, and I need not even mention the constitution, because these guys are outlaws who operate above their own laws; however, this latest self-disgrace by the DSS is a desecration of national dignity.
“The Tinubu regime has long hidden behind the Nigeria Police Force to harass, torture, and persecute me.
“First, during the #EndBadGovernance national protest, they ordered Immigration to place me on a no-entry list at all international airports. Then, the illegal IGP had me arrested for calling him what he is. A Federal High Court judge was procured to seize my passport since February 2025. I was then rearrested recently, my cell was broken into by eight armed police officers who injured my right hand, and dragged again to court on trumped-up charges.
“They have gone so far as to falsely declare in open court last week that I am engaged in “terrorism financing,” a shameless pretext to justify unlawful actions and prepare the public for further attacks against me in acts that include the use of state actors masquerading as non-state actors to physically harm me, this is the exact reason the DSS claims that “Tinubu supporters” are angry. But who are these supporters, if not the DSS, the police, and security agencies that have become conscienceless and totally lost to national priority?
“To export this disgrace to Twitter in the US shows how far Nigeria has sunk into the hands of its most incompetent and dysfunctional citizens, saddled with the responsibility of managing its national security.
“The DSS and I have been here before, under the defunct Buhari regime. The same methods were deployed: force, subterfuge, and hiding behind rogue units. It all fell flat. And just as before, the leading actors will once again disappear into obscurity.”
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