Yoruba Union Condemns DSS For Targeting Sowore While Terrorists Kill, Kidnap, Post Atrocities Online

The Yoruba Union, a socio-cultural group also known as Ìgbìnmó Májékóbájé Ilé-Yorùbá, has condemned the Department of State Services (DSS) over its request to social media platform X to deactivate the account of Nigerian activist and journalist Omoyele Sowore.

The group described the move as a misplaced priority, insisting that the intelligence agency has failed woefully in its duty to confront terrorism and insecurity while instead targeting voices demanding good governance.

In a statement released on Sunday, signed by the group’s Convener, Olusola Badero, and Home Director, Princess Balogun, the Yoruba Union called on X to ignore the DSS request, saying Sowore posed no threat to Nigeria’s national security.

According to the group, the actual threats are the terrorists, kidnappers, and bandits who continue to terrorize communities across the country.

“It is laughable that a body that prides itself as an intelligence-gathering agency is chasing after Sowore’s account when bandits are openly uploading videos of their atrocities on TikTok, being celebrated online, and still going unchecked,” the statement read.

“Every day, Nigerians are being kidnapped, maimed, and killed, yet the DSS has not been able to trace, apprehend, or silence these terrorists. But when it comes to citizens who speak truth to power, the agency suddenly becomes active.”

The group accused the DSS of reducing itself to “an errand body” for Nigerian politicians rather than operating as an independent, neutral institution.

“The agency has now become a political tool, focusing its energy on silencing government critics instead of defending the nation and its people. This is shameful and unacceptable,” the Yoruba Union said.

Citing historical parallels, the Yoruba Union noted that President Bola Tinubu’s administration was repeating the same repressive tactics used under former President Muhammadu Buhari, which it said damaged the country’s democratic space.

“How exactly does Sowore’s advocacy constitute a national security threat? Was the DSS asleep in 2011 when Tinubu himself described then-President Goodluck Jonathan as a drunk fisherman whose boat was about to capsize? Jonathan, despite such harsh criticism, tolerated free speech and allowed freedom of expression. Why is Tinubu intolerant of dissent today?” it said.

The union also drew attention to what it described as the “illegal clampdown” on Sowore’s financial assets.

“Only weeks ago, the Nigerian Police, under the unlawful directives of Inspector General Kayode Egbetokun, sought and obtained court orders to freeze Sowore’s bank accounts. These actions are targeted attempts to intimidate him for consistently exposing corruption and calling for accountability in governance,” the group alleged.

Warning against the silencing of dissenting voices, the Yoruba Union reaffirmed its commitment to protecting the rights and freedoms of the Yoruba people and Nigerians at large.

“As an organisation that prioritises the safety, dignity, and voices of our people, we will not allow the Nigerian government to muzzle activists, journalists, or critics who are speaking truth to power. Sowore’s voice, and indeed the voice of the Nigerian people, cannot and must not be silenced,” the union added.

The group urged the DSS and the Tinubu administration to redirect their focus to the real threats destabilizing the country.

“Instead of wasting taxpayers’ money chasing shadows, the government must concentrate its resources and intelligence on dismantling the terrorist networks wreaking havoc across Nigeria. Terrorists and corrupt politicians—not journalists—are the true enemies of the state,” it said.

The Yoruba Union called on international human rights organisations and the global community to take note of what it described as Nigeria’s shrinking civic space.

“The world must know that this government is attempting to criminalise activism while protecting the very forces destroying the country from within. Nigerians will resist every attempt to silence their right to demand justice, accountability, and good governance,” the Yoruba Union said.