DSS Drags Sowore, X, Meta to Court Over Anti-Tinubu Post
The Department of State Services (DSS) has filed a five-count charge against former presidential candidate and activist, Omoyele Sowore, alongside social media giants X Corp and Meta Inc., over online posts critical of President Bola Tinubu.
The suit, dated September 16, 2025, was lodged at the Federal High Court in Abuja. It followed Sowore’s refusal to delete a controversial post in which he described President Tinubu as a “criminal.”
The charges were instituted on behalf of the DSS and the Federal Government by the Director of Public Prosecutions, M.B. Abubakar, 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, Sowore said:
> “The DSS today filed a five-count charge at the Federal High Court in Abuja against ‘X’ (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and myself. They claimed that because I called Bola Ahmed Tinubu a criminal, I have somehow committed a set of ‘novel’ offences they invented and spread across five counts.”
The human rights activist, who ran under the African Action Congress (AAC) in the 2023 presidential election, insisted he would not delete the tweet despite pressure.
“This morning, X officially contacted me about the despicable threat letter they received from the lawless DSS. One option I will NOT be taking is deleting that tweet. #RevolutionNow,” he wrote.
X also notified Sowore that it had received a legal request from the DSS over the post but stated that no action had been taken yet.
In the message shared by Sowore, X wrote:
> “We have not taken any action on the reported content at this time. As X strongly believes in defending and respecting the voice of our users, we notify them whenever we receive a legal request from an authorised entity, regardless of where they live.”
The platform advised Sowore to seek legal counsel or challenge the request in court.
The case is expected to test the boundaries of free speech, government regulation, and the responsibility of global tech companies in Nigeria’s digital space.
