THE Federal Government has issued a 24-hour ultimatum to X (formerly Twitter) demanding the removal of a post by activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, in which he criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
News Point Nigeria reports that the Department of State Services (DSS), in a letter dated September 6, 2025, described Sowore’s tweet as “misleading, offensive, and a threat to national security.” The agency accused Sowore of publishing false information with “the willful intention of inciting violence, spreading hate speech, and discrediting the image of Nigeria.”
The DSS letter, signed by B. Bamigboye on behalf of the Director-General, insisted that Sowore’s tweet violated multiple Nigerian laws, including the Criminal Code Act, Cybercrime Act 2025, and Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act 2022. It warned that both Sowore and X Corp. could be held criminally liable if the tweet was not taken down.
“The author and purveyor of the inflammatory online publication against Mr. President is very much aware that the publication is prohibited by law,” the DSS wrote. “Should you fail, neglect, and refuse to comply, the Federal Government will be compelled to take far-reaching, sweeping measures.”
The controversy stems from Sowore’s tweet reacting to President Tinubu’s remarks in Brazil that corruption in Nigeria had ended under his administration. 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!”
On Sunday, Sowore confirmed that X had formally contacted him about the DSS request, but vowed he would not delete the tweet.
“This morning, X (formerly Twitter) officially contacted me about the despicable threat letter they received from the lawless DSS over my Tweet on Tinubu,” Sowore wrote. “One option I will NOT be taking is deleting that Tweet.”
He also published the message from X, which informed him of the legal request from Nigerian authorities. The platform said it had not taken any action and reiterated its policy of notifying users whenever governments request takedowns.
Human rights watchdog Amnesty International condemned the DSS move, describing it as an “outrageous abuse of power” and a clear attempt at censorship.
“The DSS targeting of Sowore’s X account is being done without any legal justification, as recognised under international human rights law,” Amnesty said in a statement.
“This represents a violation of Nigeria’s obligations under the Constitution, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.”
The group urged X not to yield to censorship demands and called on Nigerian authorities to “refrain from violating human rights online, including the right to freedom of expression and privacy.”
Nigeria has had a strained history with social media regulation. In 2021, under then-President Muhammadu Buhari, Twitter was banned for seven months after it deleted one of Buhari’s tweets that threatened separatist groups.
Public affairs analyst Alani Gilani Moyosore, while faulting Sowore for calling Tinubu a “criminal,” nonetheless criticised the DSS for trying to force X to censor him. “There are legal channels for defamation, but gagging social media is dangerous for democracy,” he said.
At press time, X had not announced whether it would comply with the Nigerian government’s ultimatum.