By Peter Omopo | September 12, 2025
Human rights activist and former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has rejected a petition by the Department of State Services (DSS) demanding he retract a social media post critical of President Bola Tinubu.
The DSS, in a letter dated September 7 and signed by Uwem Davies on behalf of the Director-General, said Sowore’s August 26 post on X (formerly Twitter) was “false, malicious, and capable of inciting public disturbance, disunity, and a breakdown of law and order.”
Titled “Demand for Retraction of Criminal, False and Malicious Post Publication,” the petition directed Sowore to immediately retract the statement, publish apologies in at least two national newspapers and two television stations, and submit a representation to its Abuja headquarters within one week.
The agency warned that failure to comply would compel it to take “appropriate measures within the ambit of the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
However, in a response posted on X on Friday, Sowore dismissed the DSS demands as “insidious, fundamentally defective, flawed in principle, and absolutely unlawful.”
“It is elementary that only the person defamed can sue. Therefore, your attempt to demand a retraction is an incompetent and unlawful attempt to hold the President’s brief,” he stated.
Accusing the DSS of acting as a partisan tool, Sowore said the agency had abandoned its statutory mandate for political battles. He cited past experiences, including his detention during a pro-democracy protest in 1993 and his 2019 arrest on allegations of treasonable felony, money laundering, and cybercrime.
Sowore further argued that criminal defamation is unconstitutional, referencing the Court of Appeal ruling in Arthur Nwankwo v. State (1985), which struck down sedition laws, and Justice Adekeye’s ruling in IGP v. ANPP against colonial-era public order ordinances.
He stressed that freedom of expression is a cornerstone of democracy, insisting that criticism of public officials should never be criminalised.
“You have no business telling me how to criticise the President. The determination of the Nigerian people to reclaim their country from thieves in power is unwavering. Freedom cometh by struggle. Aluta continua, victoria ascerta,” Sowore declared.
