On Tuesday, the federal government’s attempt to arraign activist Omoyele Sowore and two other individuals on cybercrime charges at the Federal High Court in Abuja failed.
Because the federal government was unable to serve Sowore with the charge sheet as required by law, the arraignment was unsuccessful.
When the case was called, Sowore objected that he had not received a copy of the charge or been served as required by law through his lead attorney, Abubakar Marshall.
He added that the arraignment could not stand because the trial is on a joint charge and the second accused had not been served either.
Mohammed Babadoko Abubakar, the Director of the Public Prosecution of the Federation (DPPF) and lead counsel to the federal government, denied the claims that the charge had not been served and maintained that Sowore had been served.
Mohammed Garba, the trial judge, looked through the case file at this point and discovered that Sowore had not been served.
After that, the DPPF requested and was granted an order to serve him in public court.
In public court, Sowore personally accepted the service.
But when Sowore requested three days, as required by law, to research the charge and get ready for his defense, problems started.
The judge granted the request despite the DPPF’s objections.
After that, October 27 was set aside for the arraignment.
Metal Incorporation, the third accused, was represented by Professor Tayo Oyetibo (SAN) during Tuesday’s proceedings, while X, the second defendant, was left unrepresented.
Sowore and the other two defendants were charged with docking for allegedly creating false posts against President Bola Tinubu in an attempt to disrupt the nation’s law and order.
X Incorporation and Meta (Facebook) are named as two additional defendants in the criminal charges, which were submitted to the Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday, September 16, 2025.
According to the five-count criminal charges filed under FHC/ABJ/CR/484/2025, Sowore was charged with tweeting: “This criminal @officialPBAT actually went to Brazil to state that there is no more corruption under his regime in Nigeria” using his official X handle, @YeleSowore. How daring of you to openly lie!
According to the Federal High Court, the alleged offending post was made on August 25, 2025, and was in violation of Section 24(2)(b) of the Cybercrimes Prohibition and Prevention Act 2024.
According to count two, Sowore disseminated the same misleading message on his official Facebook page on August 26 in an attempt to undermine law and order in the nation, particularly among those who disagree with President Bola Tinubu.
Section 24(2)(b) of the Cybercrimes Prohibition and Prevention Act 2024 is allegedly violated by the alleged offense.
“This criminal @officialPBAT actually went to Brazil to state that there is no more corruption under his regime in Nigeria,” read the third count, which accused the activist of using X’s official account @YeleSowore to post defamatory content on his online platform. How dare you openly and shamelessly lie against President Bola Tinubu’s character and reputation?
It was claimed that he had violated Section 375 of the Criminal Code.
In addition, Sowore was charged by the Department of the State Service (DSS), which brought the charges on behalf of the federal government, with violating Section 375 of the Criminal Code by using his Facebook platform to post defamatory content about the president of Nigeria.
In count five, the defendant was accused of publishing false information against President Bola Tinubu’s reputation with the intention of causing public fear and disturbances. This was against Section 59 of the Criminal Code Act and was punishable under the same Act.
About The Author
