DSS asks Meta to delete Sowore’s Facebook account

In a fresh petition against Omoyele Sowore, the Department of State Services, DSS, has requested Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook, to immediately shut down the activist’s official account. 

This move comes barely 48 hours after a similar petition was sent to X Corp., owners of the platform formerly known as Twitter, over Sowore’s posts disparaging President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

In a letter dated September 7, 2025, and signed by a DSS official, Uwem Davies, the agency described Sowore’s August 26 Facebook post as “defamatory” and a “serious threat to national security.”

The post, which remains online, accused President Tinubu of “lying shamelessly” when he claimed during his recent trip to Brazil that corruption in Nigeria was ending under his administration.

The DSS said this remark went beyond legitimate criticism, branding it an orchestrated attempt to discredit both the president and the country in the international community.

The petition to Meta cited multiple Nigerian laws, including Section 51 of the Criminal Code Act, which outlaws false publications; Sections 19, 22, and 24 of the Cybercrimes Act 2025, which target fake news, offensive online content, and statements that could incite ethnic or religious tension; and Section 2(3) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022, which the agency claimed Sowore violated, calling his statement an act of “domestic terrorism.”

The DSS set a 24-hour ultimatum for Meta to take action, warning that failure to comply would force the government to adopt “far-reaching and sweeping measures.”

While the agency did not specify what these measures would be, analysts suggest that restrictions on Meta’s operations in Nigeria, or even wider internet clampdowns, could be on the table.

This escalation mirrors the DSS’s earlier demand to X Corp., where it accused Sowore of online harassment and hate speech in a petition dated September 6.

That petition warned that his tweet had triggered protests by Tinubu supporters and could ignite unrest.

Sowore responded defiantly, insisting he would not delete the tweet, dismissing the DSS as “lawless,” and accusing the security agency of trying to silence dissent through unconstitutional means.

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Reacting to the latest Facebook petition, Sowore said the government was exporting “national disgrace” abroad by attempting to strong-arm international tech companies into silencing critics.

He recalled that DSS-sponsored protesters had recently staged demonstrations outside the Federal High Court and Ministry of Justice, demanding his arrest. “The brazenness of this is not only unconstitutional but a desecration of national dignity,” Sowore wrote.

Sowore, a former presidential candidate and publisher of Sahara Reporters, has long been in the crosshairs of Nigerian authorities.

From travel restrictions and arrests to passport seizures and allegations of terrorism financing, he argues that state institutions have systematically harassed him for his uncompromising criticism of government policies.

Public reaction to his August 26 post reflects Nigeria’s deep political polarization. Supporters praised him for “speaking the truth” about entrenched corruption, rallying around hashtags like #CorruptionContinues and #SoworeSpeaks on X.

Critics, however, accused him of recklessness, with some ruling party loyalists insisting that his words could undermine investor confidence and fuel political instability.

Crediblenewsng.com