The Department of State Services (DSS) has formally demanded that prominent activist and publisher Omoyele Sowore retract social media posts criticizing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, escalating tensions between Nigeria’s security apparatus and one of its most vocal government critics.
In a letter dated September 7, 2025, and signed by Uwem Davies on behalf of the Director General, the DSS accused Sowore of making “criminal, false and malicious” statements about the President on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) on August 26, 2025.
The security agency specifically referenced a post where Sowore allegedly stated: “This criminal actually went to Brazil to state that there is NO MORE corruption under his regime in Nigeria. What audacity to lie shamlessly!” in reference to President Tinubu’s recent international statements.
The DSS letter outlined specific demands for Sowore, including:
– An immediate and unequivocal retraction of the social media post
– Publishing a public apology in at least two national dailies and two television stations
– Sending representation within one week to DSS headquarters in Abuja
The agency warned that failure to comply would result in “measures it deems most appropriate within the ambit of the Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” noting that the DSS has a mandate to ensure Nigerians are not “deceived with false propaganda.”
In a 12-page response dated September 12, 2025, Sowore rejected the DSS demands outright, accusing the agency of acting unlawfully and serving as an “oppressive tool” for the current administration.
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“I find your horrendous attempt at holding an unwarranted brief for the President not only insidious but fundamentally defective, flawed in principle, and absolutely unlawful,” Sowore wrote to the DSS Director General.
The Sahara Reporters publisher argued that only the allegedly defamed person can sue for defamation, citing legal precedents including a 2021 case where Justice Obiora Egwuatu ruled that third parties cannot sue on behalf of public officials in defamation matters.
Sowore’s response detailed decades of what he described as persecution by Nigeria’s security agencies, dating back to his student activism days in 1993 when he served as Student Union President at the University of Lagos.
He recounted multiple detentions, including a dramatic 2019 arrest where DSS agents allegedly invaded a Federal High Court to re-arrest him despite meeting bail conditions, and ongoing refusal by the agency to return confiscated properties or obey court judgments.
The activist mounted a robust constitutional defense, invoking Section 22 of the 1999 Constitution, which requires the press to hold the government accountable, and Section 39, which guarantees freedom of expression.
Sowore also cited international precedents, including the UN Human Rights Committee’s General Comment No. 34 declaring free media essential to democracy, and various African court decisions striking down criminal defamation laws.
“Even in the UK, sedition and libel laws have been repealed as archaic relics of a bygone era,” Sowore argued, challenging the legal basis for the DSS action.
The confrontation comes at a time of heightened tensions between the Tinubu administration and its critics, with some civil society groups increasingly vocal about economic hardship and governance issues.
Sowore, who ran for president in 2019 and 2023 under the African Action Congress banner, concluded his response with characteristic defiance: “The determination of the Nigerian people to reclaim their country from thieves in power is unwavering. And it shall be achieved.”
The DSS has not responded to requests for comment on Sowore’s rejection of their demands, leaving unclear what “appropriate measures” the agency might pursue next.
This latest confrontation between Sowore and Nigeria’s security establishment appears set to test the boundaries of press freedom and political criticism under the current administration, with potential implications for broader democratic discourse in the country.
