The Federal Government has revised the cybercrime case it instituted against activist and former African Action Congress presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, over a social media post in which he described President Bola Tinubu as a “criminal.”
In the amended charge, referenced FHC/ABJ/CR/484/2025 and dated December 4, 2025, the prosecution dropped X Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc. (Facebook) as defendants.
The two technology companies had initially been listed as the 2nd and 3rd defendants.
The amended filing was endorsed by a team of prosecutors led by Akinolu Kehinde, SAN, alongside two other Senior Advocates of Nigeria.
Beyond removing the social media companies from the case, the Federal Government also trimmed the number of counts from five to two.
Sowore, who was first arraigned on December 2, 2025, is now expected to enter a fresh plea before trial judge, Justice Mohammed Umar. He had earlier pleaded not guilty and was granted bail on self-recognisance.
The government alleges that Sowore’s actions contravened Section 24(1)(b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act, 2024, as well as Sections 59 and 375 of the Criminal Code Act.
The disputed post, published on August 25, 2025, followed comments credited to President Tinubu during an official visit to Brazil, where he reportedly claimed that corruption had been eradicated under his administration.
Following the post, which referred to the President as a “criminal,” the Department of State Services (DSS) wrote to X and Meta, demanding the suspension of Sowore’s accounts and the deletion of the content.
The security agency also formally asked Sowore to remove the post from all platforms.
The charges were subsequently filed after both the activist and the platforms declined to comply with the DSS request.
According to the prosecution, the post was intended to incite a breakdown of law and order, particularly among Nigerians with differing views about President Tinubu. The government further argued that the publication was defamatory and designed to damage the President’s reputation.
Documents tendered before the court included printouts of the posts from X and Facebook, as well as copies of the DSS correspondence to the platforms.
At the earlier arraignment, Sowore—AAC’s presidential candidate in the 2019 and 2023 elections—maintained his innocence. His lawyer, Marshall Abubakar, applied for bail and also informed the court that a preliminary objection challenging its jurisdiction had been filed.
Opposing the bail application, the prosecution argued that Sowore posed a flight risk and sought time to respond to the jurisdictional challenge.
In his ruling, Justice Umar granted bail on self-recognisance, noting that the defendant had previously contested presidential elections and had already surrendered his international passport.
However, the court cautioned Sowore against making public statements capable of threatening public peace or national security, warning that any breach could lead to the revocation of his bail.
The amended charge states in part, “That you, Omoyele Sowore, adult, male, on or about the 25th day of August, 2025, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did knowingly or intentionally send a message by means of a computer system or network, to wit: your official ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) handle page, @YeleSowore, wherein you posted the following message/tweet: ‘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!’ which message you knew to be false and posted for the purpose of causing a breakdown of law and order in Nigeria, posing a threat to life, or causing such a message to be sent and thereby committing the offence of cyberstalking contrary to Sections 24(1)(b) and 24(2)(a), (b), and (c) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) (Amendment) Act, 2024, and punishable under the same section.
“That you, Omoyele Sowore, adult, male, on or about the 25th day of August, 2025, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did knowingly or intentionally send a message by means of a computer system or network, to wit, your official Facebook handle page. @YeleSowore, wherein you posted the following message/post, ‘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!’ which message you knew to be false and posted for the purpose of causing a breakdown of law and order in Nigeria, posing a threat to life, or causing such a message to be sent and thereby committing the offence of cyberstalking contrary to Sections 24(1)(b) and 24(2)(a), (b), and (c) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) (Amendment) Act, 2024 and punishable under the same section.”
