The Department of State Services (DSS) has issued a formal letter to activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore, demanding the deletion of his recent tweet and Facebook post criticizing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Sowore, known for his outspoken activism and leadership of the African Action Congress (AAC), responded robustly to the DSS, challenging the agency’s authority and condemning its historical record of rights violations. In his letter to the Director-General, Uwem Davies, Sowore described the DSS’s attempt to compel a retraction as “insidious, fundamentally defective, and absolutely unlawful.”
The activist recounted past experiences with the security service, including alleged unlawful detentions during his student activism in 1993, his National Youth Service Corps in 1996, and a high-profile 2019 detention over alleged treasonable felony, money laundering, and cybercrime charges. He highlighted that in each instance, the actions taken against him were later found unlawful or baseless.
Sowore argued that the DSS has no legal mandate to act as a proxy for the President, citing court precedents that confirm only the defamed individual can pursue defamation claims. He further invoked Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression, as well as relevant African and international human rights instruments.
“Criticism is indispensable in a democracy. Freedom of speech includes the right to say what those in power find uncomfortable,” Sowore wrote. He stressed that his activism is rooted in a long-standing commitment to accountability and democratic principles, asserting that the Nigerian people’s determination to reclaim their country from corruption remains unwavering.
The DSS is yet to comment publicly on Sowore’s response. The exchange underscores ongoing tensions between Nigerian authorities and vocal critics over the boundaries of free expression.
