Justice Mohammed Garba Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja has struck out Meta and X as defendants in the amended cyber-bullying charges brought against Omoyele Sowore for calling President Bola Tinubu a “criminal.” 

The judge, yesterday, struck out the names of the two foreign defendants when Sowore was re-arraigned and following the request of counsel to the Department of State Service (DSS), Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), to withdraw them from the new charge. 

In a short ruling, Justice Umar removed X Corp., owner of the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) and Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook, as co-defendants in the new case.

In the amended charge filed on December 5, 2025, Sowore, a two-time former presidential candidate, was re-arraigned by DSS on two-count charges bordering on Tinubu’s defamation as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. 

The new charge at the Federal High Court in Abuja is marked FHC/ABJ/CR/484/2025 and signed by Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN) on behalf of the Federal Government.

Sowore pleaded not guilty to the two-count charges when read to him. 

The attempt to open the trial was however stalled due to complaints by his lawyer, Abubakar Marshall, that the names of the witnesses and their particulars were not attached to the proof of evidence as required by law. 

He claimed that the refusal to name the witnesses and disclose their identities violated Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which compels a fair hearing in any matter of this nature. 

Concerted efforts by the lawyer to the Federal Government, Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), could not help the matter, prompting the judge to adjourn the trial date to January 22.

He ordered the senior lawyer to comply with the provisions of the law by listing the names of the witnesses and their particulars, as well as supplying the defendant with the necessary documents that would aid his preparation for defence.