A Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday granted human rights activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, three days to review cybercrime charges filed against him by the Department of State Services (DSS).
Sowore was scheduled to be arraigned before Justice Mohammed Garba, but the proceedings were delayed as he had not been properly served with the charges.
He and two co-defendants X (formerly Twitter) and Meta Platforms (Facebook) are facing a five-count criminal charge (FHC/ABJ/CR/484/2025) for allegedly making and publishing false posts about President Bola Tinubu, with the intent to incite public disorder.
The DSS alleges that Sowore used his official X account, @YeleSowore, on August 25, 2025, to post.
“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!”
According to the DSS, this post violated Section 24(2)(b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition and Prevention) Act 2024.
Count two accuses Sowore of reposting the same message on Facebook on August 26, 2025, allegedly to incite unrest.
Counts three and four relate to the publication of defamatory content via both platforms, violating Section 375 of the Criminal Code.
Count five accuses him of spreading false information intended to damage the President’s reputation and cause fear, contrary to Section 59 of the Criminal Code Act.
At Tuesday’s hearing, Sowore’s lawyer, Abubakar Marshall, argued that his client had not been served the charges, nor had the second defendant (X), making the arraignment invalid.
The Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation (DPPF), Mohammed Babadoko Abubakar, insisted Sowore had already been served.
However, Justice Garba, after reviewing the case file, ruled that proper service had not been done. He then permitted the prosecution to serve Sowore in open court.
Sowore accepted the documents and requested three days to review the charges and prepare his defense, which the court granted despite objections from the prosecution.
The arraignment was adjourned to October 27, 2025.
While X had no legal representation in court, Meta Platforms (Facebook) was represented by Prof. Tayo Oyetibo (SAN).
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