DSS Slams Omoyele Sowore With Five Count Charge For Calling President Tinubu A Crim!nal
The Department of State Services, DSS, Tuesday dragged the Publisher of SaharaReporters online newspaper, Omoyele Sowore, before a Federal High Court in Abuja, on a five- count charge for allegedly calling President Bola Tinubu a "criminal.'
The Department of State Services, DSS, Tuesday dragged the Publisher of SaharaReporters online newspaper, Omoyele Sowore, before a Federal High Court in Abuja, on a five- count charge for allegedly calling President Bola Tinubu a "criminal.'
Sowore was also, the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, AAC, during the 2023 elections in the country.
Joined as defendants in the suit is the X Corp and Meta Incorporation, Facebook.
The secret police had earlier on Monday September 8, 2025, given Sowore a one-week ultimatum to delete the post which it described as a ‘false, malicious, and inciting’ social media post about President Tinubu.
The ultimatum expired on Monday without either Sowore or the social media companies, X Corp and Meta Incorporation who own “X” and Facebook, deleting the alleged offensive post as demand by the DSS.
The secret police had earlier on Monday September 8, 2025, given Sowore a one-week ultimatum to delete the post which it described as a ‘false, malicious, and inciting’ social media post about President Tinubu.
The ultimatum expired on Monday without either Sowore or the social media companies, X Corp and Meta Incorporation who own “X” and Facebook, deleting the alleged offensive post as demand by the DSS.
The charges were filed on behalf of the DSS and the Federal Government by a Director of Public Prosecutions at the Federal Ministry of Justice, M. B. Abubakar, and the quartet of
M. E. Ernest, U.B. Bulla, Dr. C.S. Eze, and E. G. Orubor, for the prosecution.
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.”
“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 HIS 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 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.”
“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.
“That you, Omoyele Sowore, adult, male on or about the 26th day of August, 2025, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, using the instrumentality of Facebook, via your official Facebook account Omoyele 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" and.
“That you, Omoyele Sowore, adult, male on or about the 26th day of August, 2025, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to cause public fear and disturbance, published false information on your official X and Facebook account @Yele Sowore, respectively, 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 59 of the Criminal Code Act and punishable under the same Act.”
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.”
“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 HIS 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 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.”
“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.
“That you, Omoyele Sowore, adult, male on or about the 26th day of August, 2025, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, using the instrumentality of Facebook, via your official Facebook account Omoyele 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" and.
“That you, Omoyele Sowore, adult, male on or about the 26th day of August, 2025, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to cause public fear and disturbance, published false information on your official X and Facebook account @Yele Sowore, respectively, 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 59 of the Criminal Code Act and punishable under the same Act.”
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