DSS files five-count charge against Sowore, X Corp, meta over posts criticising Tinubu
The Department of State Services (DSS) has filed a five-count charge at the federal high court in Abuja against former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore, alongside social media platforms X and Meta Platforms Inc., over posts critical of President Bola Tinubu.
The suit, dated September 16, 2025, follows Sowore’s alleged refusal to delete certain posts about the president.
The charges were filed by M. B. Abubakar, director of public prosecutions at the federal ministry of justice, with four other counsel, M. E. Ernest, U. B. Bulla, C. S. Eze, and E. G. Orubor, representing both the DSS and the federal government.
Reacting on Facebook on Tuesday, Sowore wrote: “The State Security Service, alias @OfficialDSSNG, today filed a five-count charge at the Federal High Court in Abuja against ‘X’ (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and myself. They claim that because I called Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu a criminal, I have somehow committed a set of ‘novel’ offences they invented and spread across five counts.”
“It’s hard to believe there’s anyone sensible left in these offices that should be making Nigeria work. Regardless, I will be present whenever this case is assigned for trial. #RevolutionNow.”
Sowore added that X contacted him earlier in the day to notify him of the government’s legal request.
According to the message he shared, X stated: “Hello @YeleSowore. In the interest of transparency, we are writing to inform you that X has received a request from the Department of State Services regarding your X account, @YeleSowore, claiming the following content violates the law(s) of Nigeria. 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, it is our policy to notify our users if we receive a legal request from an authorised entity to remove content. We provide notice whether or not the user lives in the country where the request originated…
“We understand that receiving this type of notice can be unsettling. While X is not able to provide legal advice, we want you to have an opportunity to evaluate the request and, if you wish, take appropriate action to protect your interests.”
X encouraged Sowore to seek legal counsel, challenge the request in court, or take other steps, if necessary, while reiterating that it had not removed the post and would continue to defend user expression under its transparency policy.
