THE State Security Service (SSS) has petitioned X Corp, seeking the urgent suspension of the verified handle of rights activist and publisher, Omoyele Sowore, over a post it described as “misleading, offensive, and a threat to national security.”
But the rights activist has vowed not to remove the controversial post.
In a letter dated September 6, 2025, and addressed to the Chairman and CEO of X Corp in Bastrop County, Texas, the SSS alleged that Sowore, through his verified handle @YeleSowore, published a post disparaging President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in a manner capable of inciting unrest.
The agency pointed to a post made on August 25, 2025, at 11:38 pm WAT, where Sowore 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!”
According to the SSS, the statement—directed at the president’s official handle, @officialABAT—has “attracted widespread condemnation,” with some presidential supporters allegedly taking to the streets in protest. The agency warned that the post was capable of creating political tension and threatening Nigeria’s national security.
The SSS further stated that Sowore’s comment contravenes multiple Nigerian laws, including Section 51 of the Criminal Code Act, Sections 19, 22, and 24 of the Cybercrimes Act 2025, and Section 2(3) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
“It is not in doubt that the words employed by Omoyele Sowore is misleading information, online harassment and abuse, willful intention of furthering an ideology capable of serious harm, hate speech, and disunity. It has the potential to damage the image of Nigeria and cause serious threat to national security,” the SSS said.
The agency therefore demanded that X immediately ban or deactivate Sowore’s account, warning that both the author and the platform could be held criminally liable under Nigerian law.
But Sowore, reacting on Sunday morning, confirmed that X Corp had officially contacted him about the DSS request and vowed not to comply.
“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,” he wrote.
In its notice to Sowore, X Corp said while it had received the legal complaint, it had not taken any action on the reported content.
“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,” the company said in the email.
X further advised Sowore to seek legal counsel if necessary and directed him to its transparency portal, where government takedown requests are documented globally.
Nurudeen Akewushola is an investigative reporter and fact-checker with The ICIR. He believes courageous in-depth investigative reporting is the key to social justice, accountability and good governance in society. You can reach him via nyahaya@icirnigeria.org and @NurudeenAkewus1 on Twitter.