Human rights activist and publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, is set to be arraigned before the Federal High Court in Abuja on a five-count charge over alleged false statements made against President Bola Tinubu.
Court filings dated September 16, 2025, revealed that the charges stem from Sowore’s refusal to delete a controversial post he made on his official X (formerly Twitter) account on August 25.
In the post, Sowore had written: “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!”
Prosecutors allege that the statement contravenes Section 24(2)(b) of the Cybercrimes Prohibition and Prevention Act, 2024, describing it as capable of causing public disorder.
The charges were filed on behalf of the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Federal Government by M.B. Abubakar, Director of Public Prosecutions at the Federal Ministry of Justice, alongside four DSS lawyers: M.E. Ernest, U.B. Bulla, Dr. C.S. Eze, and E.G. Orubor.
Sowore was seen arriving at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday morning ahead of his arraignment.
According to the charge sheet, he is accused of publishing statements that were “false in nature, intended to undermine the credibility of the President, and capable of causing a breakdown of law and order.”
Reacting earlier through a Facebook post, Sowore confirmed the filing of charges, describing them as “novel offences” invented by the security service.
“The State Security Service, alias @OfficialDSSNG, today filed a 5-count charge at the Federal High Court in Abuja against X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and myself,” he wrote. “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. Regardless, I will be present whenever this case is assigned for trial. #RevolutionNow.”
He further disclosed that X had contacted him about a formal request by the DSS to delete the offending post, a request he vowed not to honour.
“One option I will NOT be taking is deleting that Tweet,” Sowore declared.
Sowore, who contested the 2023 presidential election under the banner of the African Action Congress (AAC), has had a long history of confrontations with Nigerian authorities, particularly over his activism and criticisms of successive administrations.
The arraignment is expected to reignite debates around freedom of expression, the boundaries of political dissent, and the enforcement of Nigeria’s cybercrime laws.
