FG to Arraign Sowore, Facebook, X Over Posts Against Tinubu

…DSS Files Five-Count Charge at Federal High Court on Cybercrime, Defamation

By Jeremy Fregene

If all goes according to plan, the Federal Government may on Tuesday arraign politician and online publisher, Omoyele Sowore, alongside tech giants X Inc. (formerly Twitter) and Meta Platforms Inc. (owners of Facebook), before the Federal High Court in Abuja over alleged false and defamatory statements against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The five-count charge, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/484/2025, was filed on September 16 by the Department of State Services (DSS) on behalf of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The case is billed to come up before Justice Mohammed Umar.

Sowore, who contested the 2019 and 2023 presidential elections under the African Action Congress (AAC), is accused of contravening provisions of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act, 2024, as well as the Criminal Code Act. His social media posts, which referred to President Tinubu as “a criminal,” are at the centre of the prosecution.

According to the charge, on August 25, 2025, Sowore used his official X handle, @YeleSowore, to post: “This criminal @officialPBAT actually went to Brazil to state that there is no more corruption under his regime in Nigeria. What audacity to lie shamelessly.” Prosecutors allege that the post was false, intended to cause public disorder, and targeted at undermining the President’s reputation.

A similar post was allegedly made on his official Facebook page on August 26, repeating the same claim. The DSS maintained that despite being aware the statements were false, Sowore deliberately published them “for the purpose of causing a breakdown of law and order in the country, especially among individuals with divergent views on the President.”

The charge further accuses Sowore of publishing defamatory material against the President under Section 375 of the Criminal Code Act, and of spreading false information with intent to cause public fear and disturbance, contrary to Section 59 of the Act.

The inclusion of Facebook and X in the case follows DSS correspondence requesting both platforms to pull down the offending posts, which prosecutors say violated Nigerian laws.

If convicted, Sowore and the platforms could face penalties under the Cybercrimes Act and Criminal Code.

The arraignment promises to test the bounds of Nigeria’s cybercrime and defamation laws, while also raising questions about the liability of global tech firms for content published by individual users on their platforms.