DSS ARRAIGNS SOWORE FOR ALLEGED CYBERBULLYING OF PRESIDENT TINUBU
The Department of State Services (DSS) on Tuesday arraigned Omoyele Sowore, publisher of Sahara Reporters, at the Federal High Court in Abuja for allegedly cyberbullying President Bola Tinubu. Sowore appeared before Justice Mohammed Umar and pleaded not guilty to the charges.
During the proceedings, Sowore’s lawyer, Marshal Abubakar, challenged the competence of the charges, noting that a preliminary objection had only been served on the prosecution counsel, Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), a few minutes before the start of the session. He argued that his client could not properly take a plea on what he described as an incompetent charge.
In response, Kehinde rejected Abubakar’s submission, describing the objection as an attempt to delay the proceedings. The senior lawyer emphasized that the day’s business was solely for Sowore’s arraignment, reminding the court that multiple adjournments had already been granted at the request of the first defendant. Citing Section 396(3) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015, Kehinde argued that the preliminary objection could not be entertained until after the arraignment.
Lawyers representing X Incorp (formerly Twitter) and Meta (Facebook) Incorp, the second and third defendants, did not oppose Sowore taking his plea.
Justice Umar sided with the DSS, ruling that the arraignment should proceed as scheduled.
The DSS charge, filed under case number FHC/ABJ/CR/484/2025, alleges that Sowore made false claims against President Tinubu by calling him “a criminal” on his X and Facebook accounts. The agency named Sowore—the African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate in 2019 and 2023—as the first defendant, with X Incorp and Meta Incorp joined as second and third defendants, respectively.
