SOWORE DISMISSES DSS PETITION, HIGHLIGHTS HISTORY OF RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
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BY OWOLABI OLUWADARA
Human rights advocate and presidential aspirant of the African Action Congress in the 2023 elections, Omoyele Sowore, has ignored a request from the Department of State Services (DSS) demanding the retraction of a social media entry in which he characterized President Bola Tinubu in a manner the DSS considered “criminal and derogatory. ”
In a petition dated September 7, signed by Uwem Davies for the Director-General, the DSS asserted that Sowore’s post on X (previously Twitter) dated August 26 was “false, malicious, and capable of provoking public unrest, division, and a breakdown of law and order. ”
The correspondence, entitled ‘Request for Retraction of Criminal, False and Malicious Publication’, cautioned: “Your selection of language in describing the President contains inaccuracies, is malicious, and has the potential to incite insurrection. Such insidious remarks diminish the standing, regard, and respect of Mr. President amongst the populace of Nigeria and the international community. ”
The agency demanded that Sowore “issue an immediate and unequivocal retraction of the false and objectionable post,” publish apologies in at least two national newspapers and on two television networks, and present a representation to its Abuja headquarters within one week.
“If you do not rectify this misleading narrative, the Service shall, without further notice to you, implement measures it considers appropriate within the framework of the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” the petition indicated.
However, Sowore, in a response shared on X on Friday, dismissed the DSS requests, labeling them “insidious, fundamentally flawed, incorrect in principle, and completely unlawful. ”
“It is fundamental that only the individual defamed has the right to sue. Therefore, your attempt to demand a retraction is an incompetent and unlawful endeavor to defend the President’s interests,” he stated.
He accused the DSS of neglecting its statutory duties for political conflicts, remarking, “The SSS, under successive Director Generals, has persistently acted with aggression, unlawfully, and outside the law — serving as a convenient instrument of oppression for tyrannical regimes intent on violating regulations and suppressing the rights of the Nigerian populace. ”
Reflecting on his previous grievances, Sowore recounted that in 1993, while serving as the Student Union President at the University of Lagos, he was apprehended by police during a peaceful pro-democracy demonstration and detained for weeks at the notorious Inter-Centre near Ikoyi Cemetery after being taken via Awolowo Way in Ikoyi.
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Regarding his 2019 apprehension, he remarked: “DSS operatives forcibly entered my hotel room, abducted me, and detained me for months under fabricated charges of treasonable felony, money laundering, and cybercrime. Most egregiously, your personnel stormed a Federal High Court presided over by Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu to apprehend me even after bail conditions were satisfied. ”
Citing legal precedents, he contended that criminal defamation is unconstitutional.
“Nigeria’s Court of Appeal in Arthur Nwankwo v. State (1985) invalidated sedition laws. Justice Adekeye in IGP v. ANPP questioned how long Nigerians must endure colonial-era public order regulations designed to suppress dissent. ”
In his view, freedom of speech is imperative in a democratic society. He asserted that dissent is essential in a democracy, emphasizing that the right to express oneself includes the ability to voice sentiments that those in authority may find unsettling.
He further argued that public representatives should not exhibit intolerance towards criticism, asserting that when limits are exceeded, the appropriate response is civil libel, not illegal suppression.
“You have no authority to instruct me on how to critique the President. The resolve of the Nigerian populace to restore their nation from corrupt leaders is steadfast. Freedom is attained through struggle. Aluta continua, victoria ascerta,” he concluded.
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