- Safiu Kehinde
The Department of State Service (DSS) has dragged human rights activists, Omoyele Sowore, to court for calling President Bola Tinubu a criminal.
DSS, in a lawsuit filed today before the Federal High Court Abuja, arraigned Sowore on a five-count charge.
As seen in the charge sheet shared on the X handle of the 2023 African Action Congress (AAC), Sowore was labelled as the first defendant with X and Meta (the mother company of Facebook) attached as the second and third defendants respectively.
The DSS accused Sowore of purposefully labelling Tinubu a criminal in a post shared on his X and Facebook handles and dated 25th of August 2025 with alleged intent to cause breakdown of law and order in the country.
The count one partly 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 (I) (b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Amendment Act, 2024.”
Count two also read; “That you, Omoyele Sowore, adult male on or about the 26th day of August 2025, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did use your official Facebook page, Omoyele Sowore, to send out a message/ post as : ‘THIS CRIMINAL @ OFFICIAL PBAT ACTUALLY WENT TO BRAZIL TO STATE THAT THERE IS NO MORE CORRUPTION UNDER REGIME IN NIGERIA. WHAT AUDACITY TO LIE SHAMELESSLY”, which you know the said message/post to be false but posted it for the purpose of causing a breakdown or law and order in the country, among individuals who hold divergent views on the personality 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.”
The DSS further disclosed that it has list of exhibits and witnesses as proof of evidence.
Recall that security service had last week written to X and Facebook, demanding for the withdrawal of Sowore’s post.
The social media platforms had in reaction informed Sowore over the development.
He however defied the DSS threat as he insisted on keeping the post.