The Department of State Services (DSS) has initiated legal proceedings against Omoyele Sowore, presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), filing a five-count charge at the Federal High Court in Abuja. The case also lists social media giants X Corp and Meta Inc. (owners of X and Facebook) as co-defendants.
The charges were lodged by Muhammed Abubakar, a Director of Public Prosecutions at the Federal Ministry of Justice, alongside other DSS lawyers, on behalf of the Nigerian government.
The move follows a directive issued by the DSS on September 8, giving Sowore a one-week ultimatum to delete what the agency described as a “false, malicious, and inciting” social media post targeting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Both Sowore and the social media platforms failed to comply with the order, prompting the filing of the case after the deadline expired on Monday.
According to court filings, Sowore allegedly made repeated posts on his official X and Facebook accounts describing President Tinubu as corrupt. One of the charges 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.”
A similar charge was filed in relation to a Facebook post made on August 26, 2025, repeating the same statement.
In addition to the cybercrime-related allegations, the DSS accused Sowore of publishing defamatory content against the President. Count three stated:
“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 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 375 of the Criminal Code Act.”
An additional charge was raised concerning the same alleged defamatory content published on Facebook, while the fifth count accused Sowore of deliberately spreading false information with the intent to cause fear and public disturbance.
The DSS has argued that Sowore’s social media activity contravenes provisions of both the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act, 2024, and the Criminal Code Act, describing his posts as a threat to national peace and stability.
The case is expected to draw significant public attention, given Sowore’s political profile and the involvement of major international technology companies in the proceedings.
