Human rights activist and 2023 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has dismissed a petition by the Department of State Services (DSS) demanding that he retract a social media post deemed “criminal and derogatory” towards President Bola Tinubu.
In a petition dated September 7 and signed by Uwem Davies on behalf of the DSS Director-General, the agency faulted Sowore’s August 26 post on X (formerly Twitter), describing it as “false, malicious, and capable of inciting public disturbance, disunity and breakdown of law and order.”
The letter, titled ‘Demand for Retraction of Criminal, False and Malicious Post Publication’, warned:
“Your choice of words in the description of the President are false, malicious, and capable of causing insurrection. Those insidious statements have the effect of lowering the standing, estimation, and respect of Mr. President before the citizens of Nigeria and the comity of Nations.”
The DSS ordered Sowore to issue an “immediate and unequivocal retraction” of the post, publish apologies in at least two national newspapers and two television stations, and present himself at the agency’s Abuja headquarters within a week.
“If you fail to correct this false narrative, the Service shall, without further recourse to you, initiate measures it deems most appropriate within the ambit of the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” the petition added.
However, in a response shared on X on Friday, Sowore rejected the DSS demands, describing them 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 said.
He accused the DSS of abandoning its statutory role and acting as a partisan tool, stating:
“The SSS under successive Director Generals has consistently acted bullishly, illegally, and unlawfully — serving as a ready tool of oppression for dictatorial regimes bent on breaking rules and repressing the rights of the Nigerian people.”
Reflecting on his past ordeals, Sowore recalled that in 1993, while serving as Student Union President at the University of Lagos, he was arrested by policemen during a peaceful pro-democracy protest and held for weeks at the notorious Inter-Centre near Ikoyi Cemetery after being taken through Awolowo Way in Ikoyi.
Speaking on his 2019 arrest, he said:
“DSS agents invaded my hotel room, abducted me, and detained me for months over trumped-up allegations of treasonable felony, money laundering, and Cybercrime. Most disgracefully, your men invaded a Federal High Court presided by Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu to abduct me even after bail conditions were met.”
Sowore further argued that criminal defamation was unconstitutional, citing legal precedents:
“Nigeria’s Court of Appeal in Arthur Nwankwo v. State (1985) struck down sedition laws. Justice Adekeye in IGP v. ANPP asked how long Nigerians must suffer under colonial-era public order ordinances designed to gag dissent.”
According to him, freedom of expression is non-negotiable in a democracy. He maintained that criticism of those in power was indispensable, stressing that freedom of speech also protects views that leaders may find uncomfortable.
“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,” he concluded.
