The Federal High Court in Abuja has scheduled the trial of Omoyele Sowore, the 2023 African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, for January 22, 2026. The trial follows charges brought by the Department of State Services (DSS) accusing Sowore of criminal defamation against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu through online posts.

Initially, the DSS had included X Corp, owner of the platform X (formerly Twitter), and Meta Platforms Inc., parent company of Facebook, as co-defendants in a five-count charge filed in September 2025. However, in a ruling on Monday, Justice Mohammed Garba Umar removed the foreign companies as defendants following a request from the DSS’s counsel, Akinlolu Kehinde SAN.

The amended charge, filed on December 5, 2025, lists two counts against Sowore, each alleging that he knowingly posted messages he knew to be false via his official social media handles. The posts in question referred to President Tinubu as a “criminal” and accused him of misrepresenting the state of corruption in Nigeria during a visit to Brazil in August 2025. The prosecution contends that the messages were intended to incite a breakdown of law and order, posing a threat to public safety.

COUNT One alleges that Sowore posted the statement on X: “This criminal @officialABAT actually went to Brazil to state that there is NO MORE corruption under his regime in Nigeria. What audacity to lie shamelessly,” in violation of Sections 24(1)(b) and 24(2)(a), (b), and (c) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention and Amendment) Act, 2024. COUNT Two similarly refers to a post on Facebook repeating the same allegation. Both charges carry a possible penalty of a fine of at least Fifteen Million Naira or five years imprisonment.

Sowore pleaded not guilty to the charges when they were read to him. However, the trial was delayed as his lawyer, Abubakar Marshall, objected to the absence of witnesses’ names and particulars in the proof of evidence, arguing that it violated Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees the right to a fair hearing.

Justice Umar directed the prosecution to comply with legal requirements, ordering Akinlolu Kehinde SAN to provide Sowore with the names and details of witnesses as well as any documents necessary for preparing his defence.

The case now centres not only on the alleged defamatory statements but also on procedural compliance, highlighting tensions between digital speech, accountability, and the right to a fair trial. Sowore’s defence team has emphasised that full disclosure of witnesses and evidence is essential for him to adequately respond to the charges.

The upcoming proceedings are expected to clarify both the substantive allegations of cyberstalking and the procedural standards for prosecuting online statements under the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention and Amendment) Act, 2024.