A group, Northern Ethic Youth Group Assembly (NEYGYA), has challenged a former presidential candidate in the last general elections, Omoyele Sowore, to exercise his freedom of expression and post comments on X and Facebook calling the US President, Donald Trump, criminal.
Sowore had in posts on X and Facebook early in the month faulted a claim by President Bola Tinubu that his administration has eliminated corruption in the forex industry. Sowore concluded his posts by calling President Tinubu “criminal.”
After a seven-day ultimatum to the politician to delete the offering posts or face “consequences” lapsed, the Department of State Service (DSS) dragged Sowore, X and Facebook to court, accusing him and the social media platforms of cyberbullying President Tinubu.
In a statement issued yesterday in Bauchi, the group said the open challenge became necessary in the light of the fact that, rather than show remorsecontinues has continued to cling to his right to freedom of speech.
The statement was signed by the group’s spokesman, Mallam Ibrahim Dan-Musa.
“We are happy that Sowore talks about his right to freedom of speech. However, since he insists that his right to freedom of speech is absolute, we challenge him to exercise that same right and post that President Donald Trump is a criminal.
“As a former presidential candidate, it is amusing that Sowore conveniently forgot that Presidents Tinubu and Trump both faced trial before becoming presidents in their respective countries.
“There is no record of any American calling Trump a “criminal” based on his record of standing trial before becoming president,” noted the group.
“It is on this premise that we challenge Sowore to exercise that same right to freedom of expression and post on X and Facebook that President Trump is a criminal same way he tagged President Tinubu a “criminal,” tasked NEYGYA, stressing, “failure to do this will help confirm that Sowore is a coward, plays double standards, and is very unstable.”
The group commended the Department of State Service (DSS) for suing Sowore, X, and Facebook, describing the move as a “most timely intervention that averted what would have been a major security crisis across the country. “
“Some of us are aware of the cult following politicians like President Tinubu enjoy. We also know what can happen when such followers feel that their political idol is being threatened. This happened in the US on January 6, 2021, when supporters of Trump stormed the Capitol Hill,” reminded the group.
“But for the timely intervention of the DSS on the Sowore post, only God knows the kind of turmoil that would have ensued had supporters of President Tinubu, like those of Donald Trump, taken to the streets to defend their political idol,” the group declared.