Sowore added that “defamation” is a personal matter, stressing that it can’t be pursued by the DSS on behalf of the president.
By Kehinde Okeowo
Human rights activist and African Action Congress (AAC) 2023 presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has responded to a demand by the Department of State Services (DSS), to retract a social media post in which he criticized President Bola Tinubu, saying he won’t do so.
He made his position on the matter known on Friday in a letter addressed to the DSS Director General and shared via his X page.
The security agency had earlier issued a one-week ultimatum to Sowore, to retract what it described as a “false, malicious, and inciting” social media post about President Tinubu.
In the letter dated September 7, 2025, DSS accused him of making “criminal and derogatory” remarks against the Nigerian president in a post on X.
“Make an immediate and unequivocal retraction of the false and repugnant post through the same platform and with the same prominence as the initial post; publish a public apology in at least two national dailies and two television stations with national spread; and send your representation within one week of receipt of this letter,” DSS demanded.
Reacting to the letter, Sowore said the agency has no business telling him how to criticise the President.
“You have no business telling me how to criticise the President. But, knowing the nature of your service, it is clear you have not learnt your lessons. Let me state it clearly once again: the determination of the Nigerian people to reclaim their country from thieves in power is unwavering. And it shall be achieved. Freedom cometh by struggle. Aluta continua, victoria ascerta,” he said.
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He went on to dismiss the request as unlawful and an attempt to act as a proxy for the president.
The AAC chieftain further said the DSS had a long history of repression against him, recounting several instances of alleged rights violations dating back to his days as a student leader in the 1990s.
He cited arrests in 1993, 1996, and 2019, including his detention on allegations of treason and money laundering, as well as the invasion of a Federal High Court during his trial.
He accused the DSS of acting “bullishly, illegally and unlawfully” under successive governments and said its attempt to demand a retraction on behalf of Tinubu was “fundamentally defective” and unconstitutional.
“The DSS has dragged me through unscrupulous abuse and gross violations of rights for decades without remorse,” Sowore wrote.
Quoting constitutional provisions and African human rights treaties, he argued that freedom of speech protects citizens’ right to criticize public officials. He said defamation is a personal matter and cannot be pursued by the DSS on behalf of the president.
He added that his criticism of government was consistent with his long-standing activism and political convictions, insisting that Nigerians remain determined to reclaim the country from “thieves in power.”
