Sowore arraigned on cybercrime charges for calling Tinubu ‘criminal’

‎The Department of State Services (DSS) on Tuesday arraigned political activist and publisher Omoyele Sowore before a Federal High Court in Abuja on five counts of alleged cybercrime and defamation for referring to President Bola Tinubu as a “criminal” in a social media post.
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‎Following two previous attempts to arraign him, Sowore pleaded not guilty to the charges. The presiding judge, Justice Mohammed Umar, granted him bail on self-recognition, based on his past status as a presidential candidate.
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‎The five-count charge, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/484/2025, alleges that Sowore contravened provisions of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Amendment Act, 2024, and the Criminal Code Act.
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‎The charge centers on Sowore’s social media posts on X and Facebook from August 2025, where he allegedly referred to President Tinubu as a “criminal.”
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‎The DSS also listed X Incorp (formerly Twitter) and Meta (Facebook) Incorp as the second and third defendants in the suit, likely for refusing the demand  to pull down the content.
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‎Sowore, the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in the 2019 and 2023 elections, pleaded not guilty to all five counts.
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‎Justice Umar granted Sowore bail on the grounds of self-recognition. This is a form of bail granted without requiring a monetary bond or sureties, reserved for prominent individuals.
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‎The judge considered the fact that Sowore was a presidential candidate and that his international passport was already held by the court from a previous case. Justice Umar barred Sowore from making any further statements that are detrimental to the peace and security of the country, threatening to revoke his bail should he violate this order.
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