Omoyele Sowore, activist and publisher of Sahara Reporters, has accused Nigeria’s Department of State Services (DSS) of escalating a campaign of harassment against him after the police allegedly failed to silence his criticism of President Bola Tinubu and state officials.
In a statement on Sunday, Sowore said the DSS wrote to social media giant X , demanding the deactivation of his verified account within 24 hours. He described the move as “unconstitutional” and “a desecration of national dignity.”
“I won’t be surprised if the same request has been extended to my Facebook page, where similar views against Tinubu and non-performing governors have gained traction,” he added.
According to Sowore, the development follows recent protests at the Federal High Court and the Ministry of Justice, where demonstrators allegedly sponsored by the DSS called for his arrest.
Pattern of Harassment
The activist, a former presidential candidate, said Tinubu’s administration has repeatedly deployed state security agencies to intimidate him. He cited his placement on a no-entry list during the #EndBadGovernance protests, the seizure of his passport since February, multiple arrests, and what he called “trumped-up charges” in court.
He further alleged that security operatives recently broke into his cell, assaulted him, and accused him in open court of “terrorism financing.”
“This shameless pretext is only meant to prepare the public for further attacks against me, including possible physical harm by state actors masquerading as non-state actors,” Sowore claimed.
A Familiar Battle
Sowore compared the current standoff to his long-running clashes with the DSS under former President Muhammadu Buhari, insisting that similar tactics “fell flat” in the past.
“This regime has sunk Nigeria into the hands of its most incompetent and dysfunctional citizens,” he said. “But just as before, the leading actors will once again disappear into obscurity.”
No Retreat
Despite the alleged intimidation, Sowore vowed not to relent.
“There is no going back. The struggle against these criminals continues ceaselessly with or without a Twitter account, with or without Facebook, and whether I am in jail or outside of it,” he declared.
The DSS has yet to publicly comment on Sowore’s allegations or confirm whether it petitioned X for his account’s suspension.
