Title: Sowore Rejects DSS Demand to Retract Social Media Post on President Tinubu Date Published: 12 September 2025 Description:  Human rights activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has strongly rejected a demand by the Department of State Services (DSS) asking him to retract and apologize for a social media post describing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as a “criminal.”In a letter addressed to Sowore, the DSS accused him of publishing “false, malicious, and odious” comments in an August 26, 2025, post on X (formerly Twitter), alleging that the remarks were capable of inciting unrest and undermining the President’s standing. The Service demanded an immediate retraction on the same platform, a public apology in two national dailies and two television stations, and a formal representation at its headquarters within one week. It warned that failure to comply would prompt “appropriate measures within the ambit of the law.”Responding in a detailed letter dated September 12, 2025, Sowore dismissed the DSS’s demand as “insidious, unlawful, and fundamentally defective,” accusing the agency of acting as a proxy for President Tinubu. He argued that the DSS has a long history of operating outside its constitutional mandate, recalling his multiple arrests, detentions, and rights violations by the Service since the 1990s.Sowore further cited constitutional provisions and judicial precedents protecting freedom of speech, including the 1999 Constitution, African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and landmark rulings against sedition laws. He maintained that criticism of leaders is indispensable in a democracy and insisted that only President Tinubu himself could seek legal redress if he felt defamed.“Criticism is indispensable in a democracy. Freedom of speech includes the right to say what those in power find uncomfortable,” Sowore stated, adding that Nigerians remain determined to “reclaim their country from thieves in power.” Attached Images: 86b04648cb3f49b72e43ef474f0bf00fbe8c41ebb70d4209553aceabbe3ede07.jpg, bea9f8e7abc220bae297f6ccd45f12a8d230b62fb21e9cd0121a11c1f4a6caed.jpg, 55de3c01151f6fd72b542af3c1b704189ef3ba42673a03669c758749ffaeb0dd.jpg Attached Video: None