Activist and 2023 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, Omoyele Sowore, has vowed not to comply with a demand from the Department of State Services to delete a social media post criticising President Bola Tinubu.
Sowore’s stance comes after receiving a notification from X (formerly Twitter) about a legal request from the DSS, which claimed his post violated Nigerian laws.
In a post on his X handle, Sowore confirmed the platform had contacted him regarding what he described as a “despicable threat letter” from the Nigerian secret police. He stated: “One option I will NOT be taking is deleting that Tweet. Thank you, @X.”
The message from X, which Sowore also shared, confirmed that the platform had received a formal request from the DSS, alleging that the content violated national law. However, X noted that no action had been taken on the reported content as of the time of the notice.
“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 (such as law enforcement or a government agency) to remove content from their account. We provide notice whether or not the user lives in the country where the request originated.”
The platform further stated: “We understand that receiving this type of notice can be an unsettling experience. While X is not able to provide legal advice, we want you to have an opportunity to evaluate the request and, if you wish, take appropriate action to protect your interests.”
According to the DSS, Sowore’s tweet, which described President Tinubu as a “criminal” over a comment made during a trip to Brazil on corruption, posed a threat to national security.
The secret police had issued a 24-hour ultimatum to X to take down the tweet, arguing that the content could incite public unrest and violated multiple sections of Nigerian law, including the Cybercrimes Act and the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act.