The Department of State Services has written to X Corp., demanding the immediate takedown of a tweet posted by activist and politician Omoyele Sowore, saying it disparaged President Bola Tinubu and posed a threat to national security.
On August 25, Sowore, through his verified X account @YeleSowore, shared a video of Tinubu during a state visit to Brazil, and criticised the President’s comment that corruption is no more in Nigeria.
The former presidential candidate posted, “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 and signed by B. Bamigboye on behalf of the Director-General, State Services, the DSS described the post as false, online harassment and a willful attempt to further an ideology.
The intelligence agency told X Corp the tweet is directed at the President through his official known X handle @officialABAT.
It warned that the publication could provoke unrest among some Nigerians, including supporters of the President.
The letter reads, “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 tweet under reference is against the transparency on X and government has frowned at it and found it extremely dangerous, false, privacy violation behaviour that manipulate and negatively impacts on the person of the President and the country.”
The DSS cited several Nigerian laws it said the post violated, including Section 51 of the Criminal Code Act, provisions of the Cyber Crimes Act 2025 and Section 2(3) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
It said the post contravenes “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.”
It added, “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 agency asked X Corp. to take the tweet and related re-tweets down within 24 hours.
“It is against the above highlighted backdrop that we make an immediate and urgent demand on your corporation to as a matter of its own policy, immediately take down the tweet and its attendant re-tweets,” it added.
DSS that should X “fail to comply with the command, the Federal Government will be compelled to take far-reaching, sweeping and across-the-board measures.”
Recall that in June 2021, the Federal Government under late President Muhammadu Buhari suspended X’s (known then as Twitter) operations indefinitely in Nigeria.
That was after the platform deleted and temporarily suspended Buhari’s account but Abuja framed it as undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.
Twitter remained banned in the country until January 13, 2022.
