DSS Writes Musk, Demands X Ban of Sowore Over Tweet Alleging Tinubu’s Corruption

The Nigerian government, through the Department of State Services (DSS), has formally petitioned X Corp. (formerly Twitter), demanding the immediate deactivation of the verified X account belonging to Nigerian activist and politician Omoyele Sowore.

In a letter signed by B. Bamigboye, FSI, on behalf of the Director General of the State Services and addressed to the Chairman and CEO of X Corp., headquartered in Bastrop County, Texas, the DSS accused Sowore of spreading “misleading information,” inciting “hate speech,” and engaging in “cyber crime” with the intent to “disparage the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria” and “threaten national security.”

The controversy centres around a tweet posted by Sowore on August 25, 2025, at 11:38 PM WAT, in which he criticised Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, referring to him as a “criminal” and accusing him of making false claims about ending corruption in Nigeria during a visit to Brazil.

The DSS described the tweet as “widely condemned” and claimed it had sparked public protests among the President’s supporters. According to the letter, the social media post “creates political tension,” threatens Nigeria’s national security, and damages the country’s image on the global stage.

Citing various sections of Nigerian law, including the Criminal Code Act, Cyber Crimes Act 2025, and the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022, the DSS argued that both the content creator and the platform are criminally liable for the continued circulation of what they termed “inflammatory online publication.”

The agency issued a 24-hour ultimatum to X Corp., demanding that the post and all retweets associated with it, be taken down immediately. Failure to comply, the DSS warned, would result in “far-reaching, sweeping and across-the-board measures” by the Nigerian government.