Activist and presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in the 2023 elections, Omoyele Sowore, has publicly vowed not to comply with a demand from the Department of State Services (DSS) to delete a tweet critical of President Bola Tinubu. This defiant stance comes after Sowore received an official notification from X (formerly Twitter) regarding a legal request from the Nigerian secret police.

Sowore confirmed on his X handle that the platform had contacted him about the “despicable threat letter” from the DSS. He explicitly stated, “One option I will NOT be taking is deleting that Tweet. Thank you, @X.” The message from X, which Sowore also shared, confirmed the platform had received a request from the DSS alleging that his content violated Nigerian law. However, X stated that it had “not taken any action on the reported content at this time.”

X’s message, which aligns with its transparency policy, informed Sowore of the request and advised him to seek legal counsel or consider other options. The platform emphasized its policy of defending and respecting user voice, noting that it notifies users of legal requests from authorized entities, regardless of their location. X acknowledged that receiving such a notice can be an unsettling experience but reiterated that it could not provide legal advice, instead encouraging users to evaluate requests and take appropriate action to protect their interests.

Earlier reports indicated that the DSS had given X a 24-hour ultimatum to remove Sowore’s tweet. The tweet described President Tinubu as a “criminal” for a statement made in Brazil about corruption, specifically: “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!” The DSS letter claimed the tweet was a threat to national security, could incite protests, and violated several Nigerian laws, including the Cyber Crimes Act and the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act.

The Nigerian Department of State Services (DSS) had formally petitioned the Chairman and CEO of X Corp., Elon Musk’s company, over Sowore’s tweet. The intelligence security agency, in a petition addressed to X Corp. in Bastrop County, Texas, USA, and dated September 6, 2025, accused Sowore of targeting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu with a “disparaging and ridiculous tweet” capable of creating political tension and threatening the country’s national security.

The DSS petition, signed by B. Bamigboye on behalf of the Director General State Services, specifically referenced the tweet posted by Omoyele Sowore on his X official handle page @YeleSowore on August 25, 2025, around 11:38 PM local time (2338 hours) WAT. The agency contended that these words were personally directed at Mr. President through his official communication channel @officialABAT. The DSS claimed the tweet was still in circulation, had attracted widespread condemnation, and could lead to “unwholesome activities” from aggrieved Nigerians, particularly presidential supporters, thereby creating political tension and threatening national security. Furthermore, it was deemed to have a disparaging effect on the President’s reputation and the country before the international community.

The petition argued that the tweet violated X’s transparency policies and was considered “extremely dangerous, false, and privacy violation behavior” that negatively impacted the President and the country. The DSS highlighted several Nigerian laws that the tweet allegedly contravened, including Section 51 of the Criminal Code Act Cap.77, which prohibits the publication of false information; Sections 19, 22, and 24 of the Cyber Crimes Act 2025, which prohibit spreading fake news, publishing misleading or deceptive content, posting rude, vulgar, offensive, or indecent content with intent to embarrass or humiliate, and provoking ethnic, religious, or tribal hatred. It further stated that such actions amount to domestic terrorism and are prohibited by Section 2(3) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, and other relevant laws.

The DSS concluded that Sowore’s words constituted misleading information, online harassment and abuse, and demonstrated a “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.” Consequently, the DSS made an “immediate and urgent demand” for X Corp. to take down the tweet and its attendant retweets. The agency warned that failure to comply within 24 hours would compel the Federal Government to take “far-reaching, sweeping and across-the-board measures” through its organization.