DSS Gives X 24‑Hour Ultimatum to Remove Sowore Tweet Over Alleged Defamation of President Tinubu, Cites Criminal Code and Cybercrimes Act Breaches
The Department of State Services (DSS) has demanded that the management of the micro logging site, X to as a matter of urgency delete the tweet posted by Nigerian activist and 2023 Presidential candidate of the African Alliance Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore about President Bola Tinubu, saying the comment posed a threat to national security.
This is as the agency pleased with X Corp. to take the tweet and related re-tweets down within 24 hours.
Recall that on August 25, Sowore, through his verified X account @YeleSowore, shared a video of Tinubu during a state visit to Brazil, and criticised the President’s comment that corruption is no more in Nigeria.
Sowore wrote, “This criminal @officialABAT actually went to Brazil to state that there is no more corruption under his regime in Nigeria. What audacity to lie shamelessly!”
However in a letter dated Saturday, September 6 and signed by B. Bamigboye on behalf of the Director-General, State Services, the DSS described the post as false, online harassment and a willful attempt to further an ideology.
The intelligence agency told X Corp the tweet is directed at the President through his official known X handle @officialABAT and warned that the publication could provoke unrest among some Nigerians, including supporters of the President.
The DSS cited several Nigerian laws it said the post violated, including Section 51 of the Criminal Code Act, provisions of the Cyber Crimes Act 2025 and Section 2(3) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
It said the post contravenes “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, 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 letter reads, “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.
“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,” it added.
Meanwhile, Omoyele Sowore, a human rights activist and Publisher of Sahara Reporters, has vowed not to delete a controversial tweet about President Bola Tinubu despite a request from Nigeria’s Department of State Services (DSS) to X (formerly Twitter) demanding its removal.
Reacting to the threat, Sowore shared the message sent to him by X, which confirmed that the platform had received a legal request from the Nigerian secret police concerning his post.
He wrote, “This morning, X 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.
The message read, “Hello @YeleSowore. In the interest of transparency, we are writing to inform you that X has received a request from the 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 authorised 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. This page provides more information: https://help.x.com/en/rules-and-policies/defending-and-respecting-our-users-voice
“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 organisations, 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 Centre and our biannual Transparency Report: https://help.x.com/en/rules-and-policies/x-legal-faqs https://transparency.x.com.”
