Presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, publisher and activist, Omoyele Sowore, today responded to a letter by Department of State Services (DSS) to US-based X.com demanding that the firm pull down within 24 hours a tweet by Sowore which allegedly disparaged President Bola Tinubu.
The tweet had labelled Tinubu in a language which DSS protested against, over the President’s pronouncement during his Brazil visit that his administration had eliminated corruption in Nigeria –a statement Sowore stated was false.
In a strongly-worded statement posted on his Facebook page, Sowore described the DSS move as “a national disgrace, an assault on institutions, and common sense,” likening it to tactics previously used against him during the Buhari administration.
According to him, the development followed protests allegedly staged by “hired DSS supporters” who demanded his arrest for criticizing President Tinubu.
He added that he would not be surprised if similar requests had been made to Facebook regarding his page, where he often criticizes state governors and federal authorities.
Sowore wrote: “This latest self-disgrace by the DSS is a desecration of national dignity. These guys are outlaws who operate above their own laws.”
He recounted his previous encounters with state security agencies, including being placed on a no-entry list at airports, the seizure of his passport, his arrest and re-arrest on multiple charges, and being falsely accused in court for terrorism financing.
Sowore alleged that the security agencies had become “conscienceless and totally lost to national priority,” claiming that Tinubu’s administration was hiding behind them to persecute him.
“To export this disgrace to Twitter in the US shows how far Nigeria has sunk into the hands of its most incompetent and dysfunctional citizens, saddled with the responsibility of managing its national security,” he posted.
The publisher of muck-raking Sahara Reporters insisted that no amount of harassment would deter him from his struggle.
His words: “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. The struggle continues.”
PHOTO CAPTION: Sowore.
