DSS threatens X.com over Sowore’s anti-Tinubu tweet
The Nigerian government through the Department of State Services (DSS) has formally given X.com 24 hours to pull down an anti-President Bola Tinubu tweet posted by a controversial politician and activist, Omoyele Sowore, disparaging President Bola Tinubu over a statement he made in Brazil that corruption in Nigeria has ended under his government.
Sowore’s tweet in question, reads: “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!”
The federal government in a letter to the Chairman and Chief Executive officer of X.com, Bastrop Country, Texas USA, claimed that Sowore’s tweet was misleading and willful intention to furthering an ideology capable of serious harm, incitement to violence, Cyber crime, hate speech, to discredit and disparage Tinubu.
In a letter by the Director General of the DSS, a 24-hour ultimatum was issued, demanding a pull down of the offending tweet which it also claimed that it was capable of causing threat to national security, create tension and ridicule Nigeria as a country in the comity of nations.
Signed by Mr. B Bamigboye for Director General of DSS, the letter asserted that Sowore’s tweet apart from causing serious embarrassment to the person of President Tinubu was capable of causing nationwide chaos.
The letter dated September 6, 2025 informed the X.com CEO that the tweet in question constitute an offence under Section 51 of the Criminal Code Act Cap 77, which prohibits publication of false information; Section 19, 22, and 24 of the Cyber Crime Act 2025, which prohibits and makes it an offence to spread fake news or publishing content that is misleading or deceptive, posting content that is rude vulgar, offensive, with intent to humiliated others, provoke ethnic, religious and tribal hatred through online statement.
Besides, DSS in the letter said that such tweet by Sowore makes the offender and the medium through which the offence propagated culpable and Criminaly liable.
“The author and purveyor of the inflammatory online Publication against Mr. President is very much aware that the publication is also prohibited by Section 2 of the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act, 2022 and other relevant Laws of Nigeria.
“It is not in doubt that the words employed by Mr. Omoyele Sowore is misleading information, online harassment and abuse willful intention of furthering and ideology, capable of serious harm, hate speech, cause disunity, discredit the President of Nigeria in the comity of Nations to damage the image of Nigeria and cause threat to National Security of the Country,” it said.
The DSS demanded that the X.com corporation must as a matter of its own policy, pull down the tweet and its attendant re-tweet.
“This demand is on unequivocal with its attendant consequences. Should you fail. neglect and refuse to comply with the command in this notice, the Federal Government of Nigeria will be compelled to take far-reaching sweeping and the across the board measures through our organisation, whose mandate cover such Criminal Act.
“In the light of the above. having been make official to you, 24 hours is sufficient enough to take necessary action”, the letter said.
At the time of this report, it could not be ascertained if the X. Com has responded to Nigeria’s demand.
