(UPDATED) Nigeria’s Department of State Services, DSS , has asked X(former Twitter) to ban/deactivate the account owned by Omoyele Sowore – a two-term presidential candidate and publisher of Sahara Reporters, Peak Newspaper reports.
DSS made this demand in a petition to the Chairman and CEO X Corp. Bastrop County, Texas USA signed by “B. Bamigboye, fsi, For: Director General State Services.”
The DSS official petition posted on its X handle was dated 6th September, 2025.
It 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.
“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.”
Read the full text of DSS petition below:
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 whichprohibits 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.
In the light of the above having been made official to you, 24 hours is sufficient enough to take necessary action.
Yours Faithfully
B. Bamigboye, fsi
For: Director General State Services.
Sowore reacts to DSS petition against him
Human rights activist and publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, has reacted to a petition against him by the Department of State Service, DSS.The petition was sent to X.
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.
“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:
Again, the DSS Joins the Fray After Nigeria Police Force Failure
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.
I have asked Nigerians the most critical question before, and I ask it again: Do you want to continue being held hostage by a tiny, wicked, inhumane band of rogues?
As for me, there is no going back. The struggle against these criminals continues ceaselessly with or without a Twitter account, with or without Facebook, and whether I am in jail or outside of it.
The struggle continues.
