DSS arraigns Sowore, X, Facebook over alleged defamation of Tinubu

The Department of State Services (DSS) has formally arraigned Omoyele Sowore, former 2023 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), alongside social media platforms X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

According to court documents filed on Tuesday, Sowore is facing a five-count charge for allegedly publishing false and defamatory statements against President Bola Tinubu.

Prosecution claims that Sowore’s posts from August 25 and 26, 2025, described President Tinubu as a “criminal” and accused him of making a false claim in Brazil that corruption had been eliminated under his government.

In count one, the prosecution claims Sowore used his X handle, @YeleSowore, to post: “ ‘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!’,”

Prosecutors argue that Sowore knew the statement 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 Tinubu and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 24 (1) (b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Amendment Act, 2024.”

In count two, the prosecution claims Sowore used his Facebook handle to post “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!”

Prosecutors in the court document also argue that Sowore knew the statement to be false but posted it to cause public unrest, particularly among citizens critical of the President.

Reacting to this, Sowore disclosed in a tweet saying, “They claimed that because I called Bola Tinubu a criminal, I have somehow committed a set of “novel” offences they invented and spread across five counts.

“It’s hard to believe there’s anyone sensible left in these offices that should be making Nigeria work. Regardless, I will be present whenever this case is assigned for trial.”