The Department of State Services (DSS) has written to Meta Platforms owners of Facebook, demanding the immediate ban and deactivation of accounts belonging to activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, over what it described as offensive publications targeted at President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
In a letter dated September 7 and signed by Uwem Davies on behalf of the Director-General, the DSS accused Sowore of disseminating misleading information, hate speech, and inciting content capable of threatening Nigeriaโs national security.
The letter, addressed to Metaโs global headquarters in California, specifically referenced a post published on August 26, 2025, where Sowore allegedly mocked President Tinubu over his anti-corruption remarks in Brazil. The DSS said the publication was defamatory, dangerous, and capable of inciting violence, stressing that it violated several provisions of Nigerian laws including the Criminal Code, Cybercrimes Act 2025, and the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022.
According to the security agency, Soworeโs words amounted to โa willful intention to further an ideology capable of serious harm, hate speech, and disunity,โ while portraying the President and the country in bad light before the international community.
The DSS warned that if Meta failed to comply within 24 hours by taking down the post and deactivating Soworeโs accounts, the Federal Government would be forced to take โfar-reaching, sweeping and across-the-board measures.โ
Sowore, a long-time critic of successive Nigerian governments, has repeatedly accused the Tinubu administration of corruption, incompetence, and human rights violations.
Reacting to the latest development on on Monday he described the DSS as โlawless, idle, and incompetent,โ insisting that the attempt to silence him was another proof of the regimeโs intolerance for dissent.
