Human rights activist and publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, was on Tuesday, September 30, 2025, arraigned before the Federal High Court in Abuja on a five-count charge over an alleged false post about President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
According to The PUNCH, court documents dated September 16, 2025, the Department of State Services, acting on behalf of the Federal Government, accused Sowore of using his verified X (formerly Twitter) handle to publish comments deemed capable of inciting public disorder.
One of the posts cited in the charge read: “This criminal @officialABAT actually went to Brazil to state that there is no more corruption under his regime in Nigeria. What audacity to lie shamelessly!”
The prosecution, led by M.B. Abubakar, Director of Public Prosecutions at the Federal Ministry of Justice, alongside four DSS counsel — M.E. Ernest, U.B. Bulla, Dr. C.S. Eze, and E.G. Orubor — argued that the post contravenes Section 24(2)(b) of the Cybercrimes Prohibition and Prevention Act 2024.
Social media companies X Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc. were also listed as co-defendants in the suit.
Confirming the case in a Facebook post last week, Sowore wrote: “The State Security Service today filed a 5-count charge at the Federal High Court in Abuja against X, Facebook, and myself. They claimed that because I called Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu a criminal, I have somehow committed a set of ‘novel’ offences they invented and spread across five counts.”
He added: “It’s hard to believe there’s anyone sensible left in these offices that should be making Nigeria work. Regardless, I will be present whenever this case is assigned for trial. #RevolutionNow.”
Sowore, who was the African Action Congress presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, had earlier vowed not to delete the controversial post, despite pressure from the DSS.
In another statement on X, he reiterated his stance, “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.”
