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The Federal High Court in Abuja has improved October 27, 2025, on the indictment of activists and publishers, Omoyle Sowore, on charges related to alleged false statements and slanders made against Ball President Ahmed Tinubu.
This case, institutionalized by the State Service Department (DSS) on behalf of the Republic of Federal Nigeria, accused violations of cyberspace (prohibitions, prevention, etc.) Amendment Law, 2024, and Criminal Code. Technology Giants X (Previously Twitter) and Meta Platforms, Inc. (Facebook owner), also joined as the Co-Defendant.
During the trial on Tuesday, Sowore’s lawyer, Marshal Abubakar, argued that his client had not been well served with the accusation and objected to the planned indictment. He further noted that X was not represented in court, even though the Meta legal team, led by Senior Nigeria (SAN) Advocate Tayo Oyetibo, was present.
Chief judge, judge Mohammed Umar, after reviewing the court record, confirmed that Sowore was not served. He ordered the accusation to be served to him in an open court, which was immediately carried out, before obeying the issue until October 27 for the start of the trial.
The accusation of five prosecution counts (FHC/ABJ/CR/484/2025) came from a post created on the Sowore social media account verified in August 2025. On August 25, he allegedly used his X-ranking, @Yelesowore, to describe President Tinubu as “Criminal” while criticizing comments made by the President during the trip to Brazil. A day later, he allegedly repeated the same statement on his official Facebook page.
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The prosecutor believes that the posts were wrong, slandered, and calculated to incite public disorders, quote violations of sections 59 and 375 from the Criminal Code. They also accused that the content was the same as the publication of false information based on the Rechimes Cyber Law.
Sowore, who fought for the 2019 and 2023 presidential elections under the African Action Congress platform (AAC), had denied making mistakes. He is expected to submit an application when the case is continued in October.
The inclusion of the global social media platform as a defendant in this case underlines the increase in questions about the responsibility of technology companies in moderating user content in Nigeria’s political space.
Analysts say the trial can set precedents for how online speeches and government criticism are regulated under cyberspace and defamation Nigeria.
