Sowore Responds to DSS Letter Demanding Retraction of Comments on President Tinubu

Abuja, Nigeria – September 12, 2025

Omoyele Sowore, publisher of Sahara Reporters and former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), has publicly responded to a letter from the Department of State Services (DSS) demanding that he delete a social media post critical of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Sowore, in a strongly worded open letter addressed to the Director General of the DSS, Uwem Davies, described the agency’s actions as an “unlawful” attempt to suppress freedom of expression and shield the president from public criticism.

The DSS had reportedly delivered a letter—via a security guard at the Abuja office of Sowore’s legal team—demanding the retraction of what the agency termed “criminal, false, and malicious” publications against the president. In his response, Sowore challenged the legal basis for the DSS’s interference in what he characterized as a civil matter, asserting that the agency was overstepping its constitutional mandate.

“Your horrendous attempt at holding an unwarranted brief for the President is not only insidious but fundamentally defective, flawed in principle, and absolutely unlawful,” Sowore wrote.

He referenced the origins and historical abuse of the security agency, stating that it has consistently acted as a tool of oppression under successive administrations. Sowore recounted multiple instances of his past detentions, including a 1993 arrest during a student protest, a 1996 detention during his NYSC service in Yola, and a more recent 2019 arrest on charges that were later dropped.

Sowore criticized what he described as a pattern of the DSS “serving the whims of dictatorial regimes,” and referenced previous failed legal actions against him, including a 2021 defamation lawsuit tied to former Attorney General Abubakar Malami, which was dismissed by the court.

Quoting constitutional and international provisions on freedom of expression, Sowore emphasized that public officials are subject to scrutiny and criticism in a democracy.

“You have no business telling me how to criticize the President,” he stated, adding that any aggrieved party has the option of pursuing civil libel, not state-backed intimidation.

He also drew attention to Nigeria’s legal precedents, including Arthur Nwankwo v. State (1985), where the Court of Appeal invalidated sedition laws as unconstitutional, and other rulings affirming the importance of press freedom.

Sowore closed his letter by reaffirming his commitment to holding leaders accountable, asserting that the struggle for a better Nigeria would continue.

“Freedom cometh by struggle. Aluta continua, victoria ascerta,” he wrote.

The DSS has not publicly commented on the matter as of the time of this report.