Human rights activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has dared the Department of State Services (DSS) over its move to prosecute him for describing President Bola Tinubu as a “criminal,” vowing he will not delete the controversial post.
The DSS has filed a five-count charge against Sowore, alongside social media giants X Corp and Meta Platforms Inc., at the Federal High Court in Abuja. The suit, dated September 16, 2025, followed his refusal to comply with the agency’s request to remove the post.
The charges were instituted on behalf of the DSS and the Federal Government by M.B. Abubakar, Director of Public Prosecutions at the Federal Ministry of Justice, with four DSS lawyers – M.E. Ernest, U.B. Bulla, Dr. C.S. Eze, and E.G. Orubor – also listed.
Reacting on Facebook, Sowore accused the DSS of fabricating offences against him: “The State Security Service, alias @OfficialDSSNG, today filed a 5-count charge at the Federal High Court in Abuja against ‘X’ (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and myself. They claimed that because I called Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu a criminal, I have somehow committed a set of ‘novel’ offences they invented and spread across five counts.”
Despite the legal threat, Sowore declared he would stand his ground: “It’s hard to believe there’s anyone sensible left in these offices that should be making Nigeria work. Regardless, I will be present whenever this case is assigned for trial. #RevolutionNow.”
He revealed that X had officially informed him of the DSS’s legal request but said deletion was not an option.
“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.”
The message from X confirmed that the platform received a removal request from the DSS but stressed that it had not taken any action. It reiterated its commitment to defending free expression, while advising Sowore to seek legal counsel or explore other responses to the request.
The case is expected to be scheduled for trial in Abuja.
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