The Federal Government has taken activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, to court alongside two social media companies — X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook’s parent company, Meta — over a post in which he allegedly described President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as a “criminal.”
In a five-count charge filed on Tuesday at the Federal High Court in Abuja (suit no. FHC/ABJ/CR/484/2025), the government accused Sowore of publishing “false and injurious” material capable of inciting disorder and undermining the reputation of the president.
The case was initiated by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr M. B. Abubakar, on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Justice. The charges cite breaches of Section 24(1)(b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Amendment Act 2024, and sections 59 and 375 of the Criminal Code Act.
According to court filings, the disputed post, published on August 25, followed remarks by President Tinubu during an official visit to Brazil, where he claimed his administration had ended corruption in Nigeria. Sowore allegedly responded on X and Facebook, labelling the president a “criminal.”
Security sources say the Department of State Services (DSS) later wrote to both platforms, demanding that the post be removed and Sowore’s account suspended. A letter was also sent to the activist asking him to delete the statement, but no compliance was reported.
Officials contend that Sowore’s words were “calculated to provoke public disorder” among people with opposing opinions about the president’s character.
The government plans to rely on screenshots of the post and correspondence between the DSS and the social media companies as evidence.
No date has yet been fixed for Sowore’s arraignment.
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