The Department of State Services (DSS) has written to X Corp., demanding the removal of a tweet posted by human rights activist Omoyele Sowore within 24 hours or face legal consequences.
The strongly worded letter, signed by B. Bamigboye on behalf of the Director General of DSS, was addressed directly to Elon Musk, the Chairman and CEO of X Corp.
The tweet in question, posted on August 25, 2025, from Sowore’s verified handle @YeleSowore, accused President Bola Tinubu of lying during a trip to Brazil about corruption being eradicated under his administration.
According to the DSS, Sowore’s post amounted to “misleading information, hate speech, incitement to violence, and a threat to national security”, violating multiple Nigerian laws, including the Criminal Code Act and the Cyber Crimes Act 2025.
The agency further alleged that Sowore’s remarks were capable of sparking unrest, citing reports that some of Tinubu’s supporters had already taken to the streets in protest.
The DSS insisted that the publication not only disparaged the President but also tarnished Nigeria’s reputation before the international community.
The letter requested that X immediately remove the tweet and deactivate Sowore’s account, warning that failure to comply could make the platform legally liable under Nigerian law.
Read full letter below:
6th September, 2025
The Chairman and CEO X Corp. Bastrop County,
Texas USA Email: press@x.com
RE: MISLEADING INFORMATION AND WILLFUL, INTENTION TO
FURTHERING AN IDEOLOGY CAPABLE OF SERIOUS HARM,
INCITEMENT TO VIOLENCE, CYBER CRIME, HATE SPEECH TO DISCREDIT/DISPARAGE THE PRESIDENT O F THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA AND CAUSE SERIOUS THREAT TO NATIONAL SECURITY OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA.
DEMAND FOR IMMEDIATE AND URGENT BAN/DEACTIVATION OF AN X ACCOUNT OWNED BY OMOYELE SOWORE THROUGH HIS VERIFIED X HANDLE @YELESOWORE OR ANY OTHER X ACCOUNT
MAINTAINED BY HIM.
We detected and monitored with dismay and consternation a widely condemned publication/trending Tweet by Omoyele Sowore on his X official handle page
@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.
The Tweet read:
“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!”
Those words were personally directed at Mr. President through his official
communication channel @officialABAT which is the known X handle of the
President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The said tweet is herewith attached
and will be referenced on herein for emphasis and necessary action.
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.
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.
This development has stirred fresh debate on freedom of speech versus national security, especially as Sowore, a known government critic, has frequently clashed with security agencies over his activism.
#DSS #Sowore #Tinubu #NigeriaPolitics #BreakingNews #OmoyeleSowore #FreedomOfSpeech #ElonMusk #XCorp
