The Department of State Services has written to X Corp., demanding the immediate removal of a tweet by activist and politician Omoyele Sowore, claiming it disparaged President Bola Tinubu and posed a threat to national security.
On August 25, Sowore, via his verified X account @YeleSowore, posted a video of Tinubu during a state visit to Brazil and criticised the President’s remark that corruption no longer exists in Nigeria.
The former presidential candidate 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!”
In a letter dated September 6, signed by B. Bamigboye on behalf of the Director-General of State Services, the DSS described Sowore’s post as false, online harassment, and a deliberate attempt to promote an ideology.
According to the agency, the tweet was directed at the President through his official X handle @officialABAT and could incite unrest among Nigerians, particularly among his supporters.
The DSS letter stated: “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 agency argued that Sowore’s post violated provisions of Nigerian law, including Section 51 of the Criminal Code Act, the Cyber Crimes Act 2025, and Section 2(3) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
It specifically cited “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 DSS concluded: “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.”
The service demanded X Corp. take down the tweet and all related re-tweets within 24 hours, warning: “Fail to comply with the command, the Federal Government will be compelled to take far-reaching, sweeping and across-the-board measures.”
This development recalls June 2021, when the Federal Government under the late President Muhammadu Buhari suspended Twitter operations in Nigeria after the platform deleted Buhari’s tweet. The ban lasted until January 13, 2022.