The Federal Government is set to arraign human rights activist and Sahara Reporters publisher Omoyele Sowore on a five-count charge for allegedly posting false statements about President Bola Tinubu intended to incite a breakdown of law and order.
Court papers show the suit, dated September 16, 2025, was filed after Sowore reportedly refused to delete the controversial post made on his official X handle on August 25, 2025. The post allegedly read: “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!”
The charges, brought on behalf of the DSS and the Federal Government, will be prosecuted by M.B. Abubakar, Director of Public Prosecutions at the Federal Ministry of Justice, along with four other counsel representing the DSS: M.E. Ernest, U.B. Bulla, Dr. C.S. Eze, and E.G. Orubor. Social media companies X Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc. are listed as co-defendants.
Sowore confirmed the legal action on Facebook, describing the charges as “novel offences invented and spread across five counts” and vowing to appear in court without deleting the post.
“This morning, X officially contacted me about the despicable threat letter they received from the lawless DSS over my Tweet on Tinubu. One option I will NOT be taking is deleting that Tweet,” Sowore wrote.
Sowore, a former African Action Congress presidential candidate in 2023, had previously refused to remove the post despite DSS directives to X demanding its deletion.
The arraignment is scheduled to take place at the Federal High Court, Abuja, where Sowore was sighted on Tuesday ahead of proceedings.
