{"id":28436,"date":"2025-09-07T14:33:05","date_gmt":"2025-09-07T14:33:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ideemlawful.com\/?p=28436"},"modified":"2025-09-07T14:34:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-07T14:34:08","slug":"dss-gives-x-24-hours-to-delete-sowores-post-on-tinubu-or-face-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ideemlawful.com\/wp\/dss-gives-x-24-hours-to-delete-sowores-post-on-tinubu-or-face-action\/","title":{"rendered":"DSS Gives X 24 Hours to Delete Sowore\u2019s Post calling Tinubu ‘Criminal’"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Department of State Services (DSS)<\/strong> has issued a 24-hour ultimatum to social media platform X<\/strong> (formerly Twitter) to delete a post by activist and publisher Omoyele Sowore<\/strong>, citing national security risks<\/strong> and violations of Nigerian law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a letter addressed to the Chairman and CEO of X Corp.<\/strong>, shared online by DSS Director-General B. Bamigboye<\/strong>, the agency stated that Sowore\u2019s post \u2014 published on August 25, 2025, at 23:38 WAT<\/strong> via his verified handle @YeleSowore<\/strong> \u2014 disparaged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tweet read: \u201cThis criminal @officialABAT actually went to Brazil to state that there is NO MORE corruption under his regime in Nigeria. What audacity to lie shamelessly!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The DSS claims the tweet amounts to misleading information, online harassment, and hate speech<\/strong>, alleging it has incited unrest<\/strong> among Tinubu\u2019s supporters and tarnished Nigeria\u2019s image<\/strong> globally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the agency, Sowore\u2019s post violates Section 51 of the Criminal Code Act Cap.77<\/strong>, which prohibits spreading false information, and Sections 19, 22, and 24 of the Cyber Crimes Act 2025<\/strong>, which criminalise offensive or deceptive online content<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, the DSS cites the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022<\/strong>, alleging the post borders on domestic terrorism<\/strong> and warns that X Corp.<\/strong> could also be held criminally liable if it fails to act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The government\u2019s letter gave X<\/strong> a 24-hour deadline<\/strong> to delete the tweet and its retweets, cautioning that failure to comply could trigger \u201cfar-reaching, sweeping and across-the-board measures\u201d<\/em> to protect national security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sowore Reacts<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In response, Sowore<\/strong> declared he would not delete his tweet<\/strong> about Tinubu despite the DSS demand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Posting on Sunday, Sowore wrote: \u201cThis morning, X officially contacted me about the despicable threat letter they received from the DSS over my tweet on Tinubu. One option I will not be taking is deleting that tweet. Thank you, X.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A notice from X<\/strong>, shared by Sowore, confirmed that the DSS had requested the deletion<\/strong> of the tweet and deactivation of Sowore\u2019s account within 24 hours<\/strong>, or face possible government action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, X Corp.<\/strong> stated it had not taken any action<\/strong> on the content and reaffirmed its policy of defending user rights<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cAs 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 authorized entity to remove content,\u201d<\/em> the platform explained.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

X further advised Sowore to seek legal counsel<\/strong>, contact civil society groups<\/strong>, or explore other avenues to challenge the request<\/strong> if he chooses not to comply.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Department of State Services (DSS) has issued a 24-hour ultimatum to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to delete a post by activist and … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28437,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2197],"tags":[822,848],"class_list":["post-28436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-bola-ahmed-tinubu","tag-sowore","resize-featured-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ideemlawful.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ideemlawful.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ideemlawful.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ideemlawful.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ideemlawful.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28436"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ideemlawful.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28436\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ideemlawful.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28437"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ideemlawful.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ideemlawful.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ideemlawful.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}