The Department of State Services (DSS) will on Tuesday arraign politician and online publisher, Omoyele Sowore, alongside social media giants X Inc. (formerly Twitter) and Meta Platforms Inc. (Facebook), before a Federal High Court in Abuja over alleged false statements against President Bola Tinubu.
The arraignment, scheduled before Justice Mohammed Umar, follows a five-count charge (FHC/ABJ/CR/484/2025) filed on behalf of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (FRN) by the DSS.
The charges stem from posts Sowore made on his official X handle, @YeleSowore, and his Facebook page in August 2025, in which he allegedly referred to President Tinubu as “a criminal” and accused him of lying about corruption in Nigeria.
The DSS said the posts violated provisions of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act, 2024, and the Criminal Code Act. Prior to filing the charges, the agency reportedly requested X and Facebook to remove the offending content.
Sowore faces accusations of publishing false information likely to incite public disorder and defaming the President, contrary to Section 24(1)(b) of the Cybercrimes Act and Section 59 and 375 of the Criminal Code Act.
One count states: “That you, Omoyele Sowore, on or about 25th August 2025, used your official X handle page, @YeleSowore, to send out a message: ‘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,’ which you knew to be false but posted to cause a breakdown of law and order.”
The charges also list X and Facebook as co-defendants for allegedly providing the platforms used to disseminate the contested posts.
Sowore, who contested the 2019 and 2023 presidential elections under the African Action Congress (AAC), and the two tech companies are expected to enter their pleas when the case is called on Tuesday.
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