Why I won’t retract my statement against Tinubu

Human rights activist Omoyele Sowore has insisted he will not withdraw his statement describing President Bola Tinubu as a “criminal,” despite pressure from the Department of State Services (DSS).

Sowore made the remark while reacting to Tinubu’s claim during a state visit to Brazil that his administration had eliminated corruption in Nigeria’s currency market.

In a viral post on X, the activist accused the President of lying to the international community.

Following the comment, the DSS gave Sowore a one-week ultimatum to retract the statement and approached social media platforms to suspend his accounts.

But in a fresh post on Monday, Sowore defended his stance, saying he would never take back the words because they reflect the truth about Tinubu’s leadership.

“Even if you give me till the end of Tinubu’s tenure in 2027, I will NOT retract my statement,” he wrote, insisting that Nigerians deserved honesty from their leaders and that he would not “sanitize falsehood with silence.”