Human rights activist and publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, has reacted angrily to reports that Nigeria’s Department of State Services (DSS) wrote to Elon Musk, CEO of X (formerly Twitter), demanding the deactivation of his account within 24 hours over posts critical of President Bola Tinubu.
In his statement, Sowore described the move as “a national disgrace, an assault on institutions, and on common sense.” He said the DSS action was a continuation of targeted harassment against him for exposing corruption and challenging what he called the incompetence of Nigeria’s leadership.
“This morning I woke up to yet another act of national disgrace,” Sowore declared. “I had already seen it coming when a group of hired DSS protesters paraded at the Federal High Court and Ministry of Justice chanting that I should ‘leave Tinubu alone.’ Now comes a ridiculously crafted letter to X, demanding that my account be shut down.”
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Sowore alleged that the security agency was not only trying to silence dissent but also desecrating Nigeria’s democratic image before the world. He accused the DSS of hiding behind security institutions to persecute him, citing a long list of abuses including unlawful arrests, confiscation of his passport since February 2025, physical assault by armed police officers, and false allegations of terrorism financing.
According to him, the campaign against him is orchestrated by Tinubu’s loyalists within the DSS, police, and other security agencies who, in his words, have “become conscienceless and lost to national priority.” He warned that attempts to export Nigeria’s authoritarianism to the United States, where X is headquartered, showed how far the country had sunk under Tinubu’s watch.
Drawing comparisons to the Buhari era, Sowore said the DSS had used the same methods of force, intimidation, and rogue tactics in the past, but such efforts always failed. “Just as before, the leading actors will disappear into obscurity,” he added.
Reaffirming his stance, Sowore insisted that no amount of harassment would silence him. “The struggle against these criminals continues ceaselessly with or without a Twitter account, with or without Facebook, whether I am in jail or outside of it,” he declared.
His response has already triggered a wave of online debate, with many Nigerians weighing in on whether the DSS has overstepped its authority by attempting to censor a critic through a foreign-owned platform.
