The Department of State Services (DSS) has written to Meta Platforms Inc., the owner of Facebook, demanding the immediate deactivation of the verified account of Omoyele Sowore, publisher of Sahara Reporters, over posts criticizing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
In a petition dated September 7, 2025, and addressed to Meta’s headquarters in Menlo Park, California, the DSS accused Sowore of spreading “misleading information” and “inciting violence” against the president through his Facebook page. The letter, signed by Uwem Davies for the Director-General of the DSS, cited Sowore’s August 26 post in which he called Tinubu a “criminal” for claiming during a trip to Brazil that corruption no longer existed under his government.
The DSS argued that the post was defamatory, destabilizing, and a violation of Nigerian laws, including the Criminal Code Act, the Cybercrimes Act 2025, and the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act 2022. It claimed the post was still circulating online, attracting condemnation, sparking political tension, and damaging Nigeria’s reputation internationally.
According to the DSS, Sowore’s post amounted to “misleading information, online harassment, hate speech, and a willful attempt to cause disunity.” The agency said both Sowore and Facebook could be held criminally liable if Meta failed to take down the content. It gave the company 24 hours to delete the post and related shares or face “far-reaching, sweeping measures.”
Sowore responded on Monday in a statement describing the DSS as “lawless, idle, and incompetent.” He accused the agency of abandoning its duty to protect Nigerians and instead acting as “Tinubu’s social media police.”
“Lawless DSS, too idle and incompetent to secure Nigeria, where over 130 citizens were killed just yesterday, has now written to Facebook begging them to delete content they find ‘offensive’ to their equally idle, tired, and criminal Commander-in-Chief, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” Sowore wrote on X.
He also asked Nigerians how long they intended to “continue being held hostage by a tiny, wicked, inhumane band of rogues.”
This is not the first time the DSS has moved against Sowore online. On September 6, the agency sent a similar petition to X Corp (formerly Twitter) demanding that Sowore’s account be suspended or deactivated. That petition, signed by B. Bamigboye for the Director-General, accused Sowore of hate speech, cybercrime, and incitement to violence.
In response, Sowore’s lawyer, Tope Temokun, wrote to X on September 7 urging the company to disregard the DSS request. Temokun described the DSS’s demand as “unlawful, unconstitutional, and without legal foundation.”
The lawyer argued that the move violated both Nigerian and international law, citing Section 39(1) of the Nigerian Constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression, and Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which also forms part of Nigerian law.
“Every person is entitled to freedom of expression, including the freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference,” Temokun said in his letter.
As of press time, Meta had not publicly responded to the DSS petition.
