Court Reschedules Sowore’s Trial Over Alleged False Posts on President Tinubu
The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Tuesday adjourned the arraignment of former presidential candidate and activist, Omoyele Sowore, alongside two other defendants, on charges bordering on cybercrime. The matter has now been rescheduled to 27 October 2025.
Sowore and his co‑defendants were initially slated to be arraigned for allegedly publishing false and defamatory posts about President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, with the alleged intent of causing a breakdown of law and order in the country.
The second and third defendants in the suit are X (formerly Twitter) and Meta Platforms Incorporated (owners of Facebook), who were joined as corporate defendants in the proceedings.
The prosecution, the Department of State Services (DSS), acting for the Federal Government, filed a five‑count criminal charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/484/2025 against Sowore and the other defendants.
According to the charge, Sowore was alleged to have used his verified X handle, @YeleSowore, to publish abusive statements against President Tinubu.
One of the alleged posts 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 claimed that the post contravened Section 24(2)(b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition and Prevention) Act, 2024, and was made on 25 August 2025 within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court.
In count two, Sowore was accused of reposting the same message on his official Facebook page on 26 August 2025, allegedly with the intent to incite public disorder, particularly among Nigerians with divergent political views about the president.
Count three charged him with publishing defamatory material against the president through his X account, contrary to Section 375 of the Criminal Code.
In count four, the DSS alleged that Sowore used his Facebook account to publish similar defamatory content, also contrary to Section 375 of the Criminal Code.
Count five accused him of publishing false information against the reputation of the president, with intent to cause public fear and disturbance, contrary to Section 59 of the Criminal Code Act.
At Tuesday’s proceedings, the arraignment could not go on as scheduled because the prosecution had not properly served Sowore with the charge. His lead counsel, Abubakar Marshall, raised this objection, noting also that the second defendant had not been served, making it impossible for the joint arraignment to proceed.
Although the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation (DPPF), Mohammed Babadoko Abubakar, insisted that Sowore had been served, trial judge Justice Mohammed Garba examined the case file and confirmed that service had not been effected. The court then granted the DPPF’s oral application to serve Sowore in open court, which was duly done. Sowore thereafter requested three days, as provided by law, to study the charge and prepare his defence. Justice Garba upheld the request, over the objection of the prosecution, and adjourned the matter to 27 October 2025 for arraignment.
While the second defendant, X, was unrepresented in court, the third defendant, Meta Platforms (Facebook), was represented by Professor Tayo Oyetibo, SAN.
