Human rights activist and presidential candidate of the African Action Congress in the 2023 elections, Omoyele Sowore, has vowed not to delete a tweet critical of President Bola Tinubu, despite a reported request from the Department of State Services to X, demanding its removal.
Sowore disclosed this in a post on his X account on Sunday morning, revealing that the social media platform had formally contacted him about the DSS request.
Sowore, a human rights activist, journalist, and publisher of Sahara Reporters, is known for his outspoken criticism of successive Nigerian governments and advocacy for good governance.
He contested the 2019 and 2023 presidential elections under the African Action Congress and has been at the forefront of several pro-democracy campaigns.
PUNCH Online earlier reported that the DSS had written to X Corp., demanding the immediate takedown of Sowore’s post, claiming it disparaged Tinubu and posed a threat to national security.
Vowing not to play to the DSS’ gallery, he wrote, “This morning, X (formerly Twitter) officially contacted me about the despicable threat letter they received from the lawless DSS over my Tweet on Tinubu. One option I will NOT be taking is deleting that Tweet. Thank you, @X,” Sowore wrote.
He also shared the message sent to him by X, which confirmed that the platform had received a legal request from the Nigerian secret police concerning his post.
The message read, “Hello @YeleSowore. In the interest of transparency, we are writing to inform you that X has received a request from the Department of State Services regarding your X account, @YeleSowore, that claims the following content violates the law(s) of Nigeria. @YeleSowore, we have not taken any action on the reported content at this time as a result of this request.
“As X strongly believes in defending and respecting the voice of our users, it is our policy to notify our users if we receive a legal request from an authorised entity (such as law enforcement or a government agency) to remove content from their account. We provide notice whether or not the user lives in the country where the request originated. This page provides more information: https://help.x.com/en/rules-and-policies/defending-and-respecting-our-users-voice
“We understand that receiving this type of notice can be an unsettling experience. While X is not able to provide legal advice, we want you to have an opportunity to evaluate the request and, if you wish, take appropriate action to protect your interests.
“This may include seeking legal counsel and challenging the request in court, contacting relevant civil society organisations, voluntarily deleting the content (if applicable), or finding some other resolution. For more information on legal requests X receives from governments worldwide, please refer to this article on our Help Centre and our biannual Transparency Report: https://help.x.com/en/rules-and-policies/x-legal-faqs https://transparency.x.com.”
PUNCH Online reports that Sowore has frequently accused the DSS and other government agencies of clamping down on dissent and free speech, insisting that his criticism of the Tinubu administration falls under constitutionally guaranteed rights.
The DSS, Nigeria’s domestic intelligence agency, has in the past been accused by rights groups of targeting dissenting voices and clamping down on free expression. Sowore himself was arrested by the DSS in 2019 over his “RevolutionNow” protest movement and was detained for several months despite court orders granting him bail.
X (formerly Twitter) has a stated policy of notifying users when it receives legal demands from governments requesting the takedown of content. The platform has also faced pressure in Nigeria before — most notably during the 2021 Twitter ban by the Federal Government, which accused the company of undermining national security after it deleted a tweet by then-President Muhammadu Buhari.
Sowore’s latest confrontation with the DSS highlights the ongoing tension between government authorities and citizens’ digital rights, particularly regarding criticism of public officials online.
His insistence on keeping the tweet online could spark renewed public debate on freedom of speech, government surveillance, and the limits of dissent in Nigeria’s democracy.
(Punch)
