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The Department of State Services (DSS) has submitted a formal petition to Elon Musk, Chairman and CEO of X (formerly Twitter), requesting the immediate deactivation of the verified account of Nigerian activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore.
In the petition dated September 6, 2025, and addressed to X Corp’s office in Bastrop County, Texas, USA, the DSS accused Sowore of posting a tweet that disparaged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The agency claimed the post was capable of inciting political tension and threatening national security.
The tweet, posted on August 25, 2025, read:
“This criminal @officialABAT actually went to Brazil to state that there is NO MORE corruption under his regime in Nigeria. What audacity to lie shamelessly!”
The DSS stated that the tweet amounted to the spread of false and misleading information, cybercrime, hate speech, and an attempt to discredit the President. It said the message was targeted at Tinubu’s official X handle and could provoke unrest, noting that supporters of the President had already started protesting.
Citing Nigerian laws, including the Criminal Code Act, Cybercrimes Act 2025, and the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022, the DSS warned that the tweet constituted offenses punishable under national law.
The agency demanded that X:
- Delete the tweet and all related retweets
- Deactivate Sowore’s verified X handle (@YeleSowore) or any other associated account
- Comply within 24 hours
The DSS warned that failure to act would lead the Federal Government to take “far-reaching, sweeping and across-the-board measures” through its security apparatus.
As of now, there has been no public response from Elon Musk, X Corp, or Sowore regarding the petition.
