Omoyele Sowore, an activist and former African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, was charged with five counts by the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) on Tuesday for referring to President Bola Tinubu as a “criminal” in a social media post.
Through Mr. M. B. Abubakar, Director of Public Prosecutions, Federal Ministry of Justice, FGN filed a charge before the Federal High Court in Abuja, arguing that Sowore committed offenses against and punishable under Section 24 (1) (b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act, 2024, as well as Sections 59 and 375 of the Criminal Code Act, as a result of the false accusation.
These two social media sites, “X” Incorp (formerly Twitter) and Meta Incorp (Facebook), are equally cited as the second and third defendants in the charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/484/2025.
Following President Tinubu’s assertion that his administration had effectively eradicated corruption in Nigeria during an official visit to Brazil, Sowore made his controversial post on August 25.
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Disturbed by the post that called President Tinubu a “criminal,” the Department of State Services, or DSS, sent a letter to the two social media sites requesting that Sowore’s account be banned and that the offensive statement be removed.
Additionally, the security agency sent the activist a letter requesting that he remove the post from all platforms on which it was shared.
The charge FGN filed on Tuesday seemed to come after Sowore and the social media platforms refused to comply with the DSS’s request.
FGN claims that Sowore’s post was intended to undermine law and order in the nation, particularly among those who have different opinions about President Tinubu’s character.
It insisted that the purpose of the defamatory post was to damage President Tinubu’s reputation and persona.
FGN stated it would use a printout of Sowore’s posts on Facebook and X, along with the letters DSS sent to the two platforms, as exhibits in the case.
Count charges
Some of the count in the charge, read: “That you, Omoyele Sowore, adult, male, on or about the 25th day of August, 2025, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did use your official X Handle page, @Yele Sowore, to send out a message/ tweet as: “THIS CRIMINAL @ OFFICIAL PBAT ACTUALLY WENT TO BRAZIL TO STATE THAT THERE IS NO MORE CORRUPTION UNDER HIS REGIME IN NIGERIA. WHAT AUDACITY TO LIE SHAMELESSLY”, which you know the said message to be false but posted it for the purpose of causing a breakdown of law and order in the country, especially among individuals who hold divergent views on the personality of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR) and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 24 (1) (b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Amendment Act, 2024.
“That you, Omoyele Sowore, adult, male, on or about the 26th day of August, 2025, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did use your official Facebook page, Omoyele Sowore, to send out a message/ post as : “THIS CRIMINAL @ OFFICIAL PBAT ACTUALLY WENT TO BRAZIL TO STATE THAT THERE IS NO MORE CORRUPTION UNDER HIS REGIME IN NIGERIA. WHAT AUDACITY TO LIE SHAMELESSLY, ” which you know the said message/post to be false but posted it for the purpose of causing a breakdown of law and order in the country, especially among individuals who hold divergent views on the personality of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR) and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 24 (1) (b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Amendment Act, 2024.
“That you, Omoyele Sowore, adult, male on or about the 25th day of August, 2025, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, using the instrumentality of X, via your official X account @Yele Sowore, did knowingly published defamatory material on your online platform viz: “THIS CRIMINAL @ OFFICIAL PBAT ACTUALLY WENT TO BRAZIL TO STATE THAT THERE IS NO MORE CORRUPTION UNDER HIS REGIME IN NIGERIA. WHAT AUDACITY TO LIE SHAMELESSLY”, against the personality and reputation of the President and CommanderinChief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR) and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 375 of the Criminal Code Act.”
The arraignment of the defendants has not yet been scheduled.
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