Nigeria’s Department of State Services (DSS) has formally written to billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk, demanding the shutdown of activist Omoyele Sowore’s X (formerly Twitter) account for comments critical of President Bola Tinubu.
A letter dated September 6, 2025, and addressed to Musk in his capacity as Chairman and CEO of X Corp., accused Sowore, publisher of Sahara Reporters, of using his verified handle to push “misleading information, incitement to violence, hate speech, cybercrime, and disparagement of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
The two-page document, signed by B. Bamigboye on behalf of the DSS Director General, cited an August 25 post where Sowore referred to President Tinubu as a “criminal” and accused him of lying during a trip to Brazil.
“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!” Sowore had posted.
According to the DSS, such remarks amount to ridicule of the president and a “serious threat to national security.” The agency demanded that Musk enforce an “immediate and urgent ban/deactivation” of Sowore’s account and any affiliated handles within 24 hours. It warned that failure to comply could force Nigeria to impose “far-reaching, sweeping and across-the-board measures” against X.
Reacting on Facebook, Sowore described the DSS request as “a national disgrace” and “an assault on institutions and common sense.”
“It came as no surprise to discover a ridiculously crafted letter from the DSS to X, demanding that my account be deactivated within 24 hours,” he wrote. “This brazenness is not only unconstitutional but also a desecration of national dignity.”
He accused the Tinubu government of hiding behind security agencies to persecute him, citing past arrests, travel restrictions, and a recent court case that branded him a “terrorism financier.”
“To export this shame to Twitter in the US shows how far Nigeria has sunk into the hands of its most incompetent and dysfunctional citizens,” he added, vowing that his activism would continue “with or without a Twitter account.”
Sowore’s clash with the DSS is not new. In 2019, under former President Muhammadu Buhari, he was arrested ahead of the #RevolutionNow protests, detained for months, denied bail, and restricted from traveling abroad despite multiple court rulings. He was charged with treason, but the case was dropped in 2023 when Attorney General Lateef Fagbemi entered a nolle prosequi, formally ending the trial.
Despite the discontinuation, Sowore insists that security agencies under Tinubu have continued to harass him — now extending the battle to Silicon Valley.

Culled from the People’s Gazette
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