Human rights activist and 2023 presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore has vowed that he “will not delete a tweet” critical of President Bola Tinubu, despite a reported request from the Department of State Services (DSS) to X demanding its removal.
Sowore disclosed this in a post on his X account on Sunday morning, revealing that the social media platform had “formally contacted him” about the DSS’s request.
The article identifies Sowore as a “human rights activist and journalist” known for his “outspoken criticism of successive Nigerian governments” and his involvement in “several pro-democracy campaigns.”
Read Also: DSS Gives X 24 Hours To Pull Down Sowore’s Account, Gives Reason
The DSS had written to X Corp., demanding the “immediate takedown” of Sowore’s post. The agency claimed the post “disparaged Tinubu” and “posed a threat to national security.”
Vowing not to play to the DSS’ gallery, he wrote, “This morning, X (formerly Twitter) officially contacted me about the despicable threat letter they received from the lawless DSS over my Tweet on Tinubu. One option I will NOT be taking is deleting that Tweet. Thank you, @X,” Sowore wrote.
He also shared the message sent to him by X, which confirmed that the platform had received a legal request from the Nigerian secret police concerning his post.
The message read, “Hello @YeleSowore. In the interest of transparency, we are writing to inform you that X has received a request from the Department of State Services regarding your X account, @YeleSowore, that claims the following content violates the law(s) of Nigeria. @YeleSowore, we have not taken any action on the reported content at this time as a result of this request.
“As X strongly believes in defending and respecting the voice of our users, it is our policy to notify our users if we receive a legal request from an authorised entity (such as law enforcement or a government agency) to remove content from their account. We provide notice whether or not the user lives in the country where the request originated. This page provides more information: https://help.x.com/en/rules-and-policies/defending-and-respecting-our-users-voice
“We understand that receiving this type of notice can be an unsettling experience. While X is not able to provide legal advice, we want you to have an opportunity to evaluate the request and, if you wish, take appropriate action to protect your interests.
“This may include seeking legal counsel and challenging the request in court, contacting relevant civil society organisations, voluntarily deleting the content (if applicable), or finding some other resolution. For more information on legal requests X receives from governments worldwide, please refer to this article on our Help Centre and our biannual Transparency Report: https://help.x.com/en/rules-and-policies/x-legal-faqs https://transparency.x.com.”
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