The Department of State Services (DSS) has filed a five-count charge against former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore, alongside X Corp (formerly Twitter) and Meta Platforms Inc., over posts critical of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The suit, dated September 16, 2025, was lodged at the Federal High Court, Abuja, after Sowore allegedly refused to delete certain posts about the President.
The case was filed on behalf of the DSS and the Federal Government by M.B. Abubakar, Director of Public Prosecutions at the Federal Ministry of Justice, along with four other DSS counsel: M.E. Ernest, U.B. Bulla, Dr. C.S. Eze, and E.G. Orubor.
Confirming the development in a Facebook post on Tuesday, Sowore wrote:
“The State Security Service, alias @OfficialDSSNG, today filed a 5-count charge at the Federal High Court in Abuja against ‘X’ (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and myself. They claimed that because I called Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu a criminal, I have somehow committed a set of ‘novel’ offences they invented and spread across five counts. Regardless, I will be present whenever this case is assigned for trial. #RevolutionNow.”
Earlier, PUNCH Online reported that Sowore vowed not to delete the controversial post, despite a formal DSS request to X demanding its removal.
In his latest statement, the African Action Congress (AAC) 2023 presidential candidate reiterated his defiance:
“This morning, X officially contacted me about the despicable threat letter they received from the lawless DSS over my Tweet on Tinubu. One option I will NOT be taking is deleting that Tweet. Thank you, @X.”
He also published a message sent to him by X, confirming that the platform had received a legal request from the DSS concerning his post.
X’s notification to Sowore stated:
“Hello @YeleSowore. In the interest of transparency, we are writing to inform you that X has received a request from the Department of State Services regarding your account… We have not taken any action on the reported content at this time as a result of this request. As X strongly believes in defending and respecting the voice of our users, it is our policy to notify our users if we receive a legal request from an authorised entity to remove content.”
X further advised Sowore to consider legal counsel, challenge the request in court, or seek alternative resolutions.
The development has sparked fresh debate over free speech, government censorship, and digital rights in Nigeria.
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