Elon Musk,owner of the social media platform X, has reiterated his commitment to maintaining the platform as a space for hearing all sides of an argument, emphasizing community-driven content moderation. In a post on his X handle, Musk stated, “On this platform, the people decide the narrative. You hear all sides of an argument. Community Notes corrects everyone, no exceptions. Notes data and code is public source. Grok provides further fact-checking.” This statement comes amid a significant dispute involving the Nigerian government, prominent activist Omoyele Sowore, and X Corp.

The Department of State Services (DSS) of Nigeria has officially requested X to suspend the account of Omoyele Sowore, who is also the African Action Congress (AAC)presidential candidate. The DSS specifically demanded the immediate takedown of a tweet posted by Sowore that was critical of President Bola Tinubu, alleging it disparaged the President and posed a threat to national security.

Photo Credit: BBC News

On August 25, Sowore had shared a video of President Tinubu during a state visit to Brazil, where he criticized the President’s comment that corruption was no longer present in Nigeria. Sowore, a former presidential candidate and publisher of Sahara Reporters, has been a vocal critic of the Tinubu administration, with his posts frequently drawing government attention.

In a letter dated September 7, 2025, and signed by Uwem Davis on behalf of the Director General of DSS, the security agency demanded that Sowore retract the alleged disparaging post made against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on his verified X handle. The letter, entitled “Demand for Retraction of Criminal, False and Malicious Post Publication,” was addressed to Sowore using his American and social media addresses. The DSS gave Sowore a one-week ultimatum to withdraw the offending post and publish a public apology to President Tinubu and Nigeria through major newspapers and television stations, demanding that the apology be given equal prominence to the original post.

Photo Credit: Sahara Reporters

The DSS claimed that Sowore’s choice of words in describing the President was false, malicious, and capable of inciting public disturbance, disunity, and a breakdown of law and order. The agency stated that such statements were capable of causing insurrection, being “odious, repugnant, derogatory and uncomplimentary towards a person occupying the highest office of this country,” and capable of lowering the President's standing nationally and internationally.

The DSS further invited Sowore to make an unequivocal retraction on X, publish a public apology in at least two national dailies and two national television stations, and send his representation within one week to the DSS headquarters. The letter warned that if Sowore failed to comply, the Service would initiate measures deemed most appropriate within the ambit of Nigerian laws, and it was copied to the United States Embassy in Abuja.